SEGOVIA 


OF  SPAIN 


JOHN  -  A-  GADE 


SEVILLA 


UBRARV 

UNWERSITY  Of 
CALIFORNIA 

SAN  OIEGO 


1  >r  y-o-^"--  i'\i.^ 


l}^ 


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CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 


Photo  by  J .  Lacoste,  Madrid 


NEW  CATHEDRAL 


SALAMANCA 


CATHEDRALS  OF 
SPAIN 

BY 

JOHN  ALLYNE  GADE 

FULLY  ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

<!tbt  mititt^iiiz  T^uft^  Cambcibge 

1911 


COPYRIGHT,    191 1,   BY  JOHN   A.  6ADB 
ALL    RIGHTS  RESERVED 

Published  February  iqit 


TO 

THE   LAST   CHATELAINE 
OF   FROGNER   HOVEDGAARD 

IN  REVERENCE,  GRATITUDE 
AND    AFFECTION 


PREFACE 

IN  the  last  dozen  years  many  English  books  on 
Spain  have  appeared.  They  have  dealt  with  their 
subject  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  artist  or  the  his- 
torian, the  archaeologist,  the  politician,  or  the  mere 
sight-seer.  The  student  of  architecture,  or  the  travel- 
er, desiring  a  more  intimate  or  serious  knowledge 
of  the  great  cathedrals,  has  had  nothing  to  consult 
since  Street  published  his  remarkable  book  some  forty 
years  ago.  There  have  been  artistic  impressions,  as 
well  as  guide-book  recitations,  by  the  score.  Some 
have  been  excellent,  though  few  have  surpassed  the 
older  ones  of  Dumas,  pere,  and  Gautier,  or  Baedeker's 
later  guide-book.  A  year  ago  appeared  the  second 
and  last  volume  of  Senor  Lamperez  y  Romea's  "His- 
toria  de  la  Arquitectura  Cristiana  Espanola  en  la 
Edad  Media,"  a  work  so  comprehensive  and  scholarly 
that  it  practically  stands  alone. 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  certain  buildings,  and 
especially  cathedrals,  cannot  be  properly  studied 
quite  apart  from  what  surrounds  them,  or  from  their 
past  history.  To  look  comprehendingly  up  at  cath- 
edral vaults  and  spires,  one  must  also  look  beyond 
them  at  the  city  and  the  people  and  times  that 
created  them.  In  some  such  setting,  the  study  of 
Avila,  Salamanca  the  elder  and  the  younger,  Burgos, 
Toledo,  Leon,  Segovia,  Seville,  and  Granada  is  here 
attempted,  in  the  hope  it  will  not  prove  too  technical 
for  the  ordinary  traveler,  nor  too  superficial  for 
the  student  of  architecture.   The  cathedrals  selected 


viii  PREFACE 

cover  nearly  all  periods  of  Gothic  art,  as  interpreted 
in  Spain,  as  well  as  the  earlier  Romanesque  and 
succeeding  Renaissance,  with  which  the  Gothic  was 
mingled.  All  the  great  churches  were  the  work  of 
different  epochs  and  consequently  contain  several 
styles  of  architecture.  The  series  here  described  is 
very  incomplete,  but  the  book  would  have  grown  too 
bulky  had  it  included  Santiago  da  Compostella  with 
its  heavenly  portal,  and  Barcelona  or  Gerona,  Lerida 
or  Tudela. 

Whether  we  read  a  page  of  Cervantes,  or  gaze  on 
one  of  Velasquez's  faces,  or  wander  through  one  of 
the  grand  cathedrals  of  Spain,  we  realize  that  this 
great  world-empire  has  never  ceased  to  exist  in  mat- 
ters of  art,  but  still  in  the  twentieth  century  must 
rouse  our  wonder  and  admiration.  In  barren  deserts, 
on  parched  and  lonely  plains,  amid  hovels  crumbling 
to  decay,  still  stand  the  monuments  of  Spain's  great- 
ness. But  if  nowhere  else  in  the  world  can  one  find 
such  glorious  works  of  art  surrounded  by  such  squalor, 
let  us  draw  from  the  past  the  promise  of  a  revival 
in  Spain  of  all  that  constitutes  the  true  greatness 
of  a  nation.  In  the  fourth  century.  Bishop  Hosius  of 
Cordova  was,  from  every  point  of  view,  the  first 
living  churchman — Cordova  itself  became,  under 
the  Ammeyad  Caliphs  in  the  tenth  century,  the  most 
civilized,  the  most  learned,  and  the  loveliest  capital 
in  Europe.  Three  hundred  years  later,  Alfonso  X 
of  Castile  was  not  only  a  distinguished  linguist  and 
j)oet,  but  the  greatest  astronomer  and  lawgiver  of 
his  age.  When  the  Spanish  people  have  once  more 
made  education  as  general  as  it  was  under  the  ac- 
complished Arabs,  and  adopted  the  division  of  power 


PREFACE  ix 

insisted  on  in  a  letter  from  Bishop  Hosius  to  the 
Emperor  Constantius,  "Leave  ecclesiastical  affairs 
alone.  .  .  .  We  are  not  allowed  to  rule  the  earth,'* 
they  will  take  the  rank  their  character  and  genius 
deserve  among  the  nations.  Their  cathedrals  will 
then  stand  in  an  environment  befitting  their  grand- 
eur, a  society  which  will  help  them  to  transmit  to 
coming  generations  the  noblest,  imperishable  hopes 
of  humanity. 

John  Allyne  Gade. 
New  York  City. 


CONTENTS 

I.  Salamanca 1 

n.  BUEGOS 31 

III.  AviLA 65 

IV.  Leon 89 

V.  Toledo 119 

VI.  SEGOVL4. 165 

VII.  Seville    .        . .189 

VIII.  Geanada      .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .237 

Books  Consulted  .        .        .       .       .        .        .  267 

Index  .,.*......      269 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

New  Cathedral  of  Salamanca  (page  24)  .      .      .  Frontispiece 

Cathedrals  of  Salamanca  :  The  tovirers  of  the  old  and  new 

buildings 3 

Cathedrals  of  Salamanca  :  Plans 6 

Threshing  outside  the  Walls  of  Salamanca        ...  10 

Cathedral  of  Salamanca  :  The  Tower  of  the  Cock  ...  16 

Salamanca  :  From  the  Vega 28 

Cathedral  of  Burgos  :  "West  front 33 

Cathedral  of  Burgos:  Flan 36 

Cathedral  of  Burgos  :  View  of  the  nave 40 

Cathedral  of  Burgos  :  Lantern  over  the  crossing      ...  46 

Cathedral  of  Burgos  :  The  Golden  Staircase     ....  60 

Cathedral  of  Burgos:  The  Chapel  of  the  Constable       .      .  54 

Cathedral  of  Burgos  :  The  spires  above  the  housetops   .      .  58 

Cathedral  of  Avila 67 

Cathedral  of  Avila:  Plan 68 

Cathedral  of  Avila  :  Exterior  of  the  apse  turret     ...  72 

Avila  :  From  outside  the  walls .80 

Cathedral  of  Avila  :  Main  entrance     .       .    •  .      .      •      .86 

Cathedral  of  Leon  :  From  the  southwest 91 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Cathedral  of  Leon  :  Plan 94 

Cathedral  of  Leon  :  Looking  up  the  nave    .....    98 

Cathedral  of  Leon  :  Bear  of  apse 104 

Cathedral  of  Toledo 121 

Cathedral  of  Toledo:  Flan 124 

Cathedral  of  Toledo  :  The  choir  stalls 140 

Cathedral  of  Toledo  :  Chapel  of  Santiago,  tombs  of  Alvaro 
de  Luna  and  his  spouse 153 

Cathedral  of  Segovla. 167 

Cathedral  of  Seqovia:  Plan 170 

Cathedral  of  Segovia  :  From  the  Plaza 176 

Cathedral  of  Seville  :  The  Giralda,  from  the  Orange  Tree 
Court 191 

Cathedral  of  Seville:  Plan 194 

Cathedral  of  Seville  :  Gateway  of  Perdon  in  the  Orange 
Tree  Court 210 

Cathedral  of  Seville  and  the  Gicalda 228 

Cathedral  of  Granada  :  West  front 239 

Cathedral  of  Granada:  Plan.      .......  242 

Cathedral  of  Granada  :  The  exterior  cornices  of  the  Royal 
Chapel 248 

Cathedral  of  Granada  :  The  reja  enclosing  the  Royal  Chapel 
and  tombs  of  the  Catholic  Kings 256 

Cathedral  of  Granada  :  The  tombs  of  the  Catholic  Kings,  of 
Philip  and  of  Queen  Juana 262 


I 

SALAMANCA 


Photo  by  Author 


CATHEDRALS  OF  SALAMANCA 
Tbe  towers  of  the  old  and  new  buildings 


CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 


SALAMANCA 

In  quella  parte  ove  surge  ad  aprire 
ZeflSro  dolce  le  novelle  fronde, 
Di  che  si  vede  Europa  rivestire. 

Paradiso,  c.  xn,  I.  46. 


NOWHERE  else  in  Spain,  and  certainly  in  few 
places  outside  her  borders,  can  one  take  in  the 
whole  architectural  development  of  successive  styles 
and  ages  so  comprehensively  as  in  Salamanca. 
Byzantine  and  Romanesque,  Gothic  from  its  first 
fire  to  the  last  flicker  and  coldness  of  the  ashes,  and 
the  triumphant  domination  of  the  reborn  classicism, 
—  all  are  massed  together  here. 

Contrasts  are  eloquent  to  belittle  or  magnify. 
Here  two  cathedrals  stand  side  by  side,  the  older 
from  the  days  of  the  Kingdom,  a  mere  chapel  in 
size  compared  to  the  larger  and  later  expression  of 
Imperial  Spain.  A  David  beside  a  Goliath,  simple 
power  by  the  side  of  ponderous  self-assurance. 
Rude  in  its  simplicity,  seemingly  unconscious  of  its 
great  inheritance  and  the  genius  it  embodies,  the  old 
church  stands  a  monument  of  early  virile  effort,  in 


4  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

strength  and  poetry  akin  to  the  wind-swept  rocks 
round  which  still  whisper  mysterious  Oriental  legends. 
The  huge  bulk  that  overshadows  it  betrays  exhausted 
vigor  and  a  decadent  form.  Here  is  simplicity  by 
complexity,  majestic  sobriety  close  to  wanton  magni- 
ficence, poise  by  restlessness;  each  speaks  the  lan- 
guage of  the  age  that  conceived  and  brought  it  forth. 
Proximity  has  compelled  the  odiousness  of  compari- 
son, for  you  can  never  see  the  later  Cathedral  apart 
from  the  old.  You  are  haunted  by  the  salience  of 
their  divergency,  the  importance  of  their  contrasts, 
until  their  meaning  becomes  so  far  clear  to  you 
that  the  solid  blocks  of  the  ancient  temple  seem 
to  symbolize  the  Church  Militant  and  Triumphant. 
That  indomitable  spirit  did  not  meet  you  under 
the  mighty  arches  of  the  newer  church,  but  go  into 
the  hushed  perfection  of  those  abandoned  walls  and 
walk  along  the  dismantled  nave  and  you  will 
repeat  the  old  epithet  coupled  with  the  city,  "Fortis 
Salamanca!" 

This  once  famous  town  lay  in  a  curious  setting  as 
seen  from  the  cock-tower  in  the  month  of  August. 
Here  and  there  were  rusty,  copper-colored  fields, 
where  the  plow  had  just  furrowed  the  surface.  There 
were  vineyards  in  which  the  sandy,  white  mounds 
were  tufted  by  the  deep  emerald  of  the  grape-vines, 
but  the  prevailing  color  was  the  yellow  straw  of 
harvested  fields.  These  were  a  busy  scene, — laborers 
were  driving  their  oxen  harnessed  to  primitive  carts 
and  treading  out  the  grain  as  in  olden  times.  They 
made  their  rounds  between  the  high  yellow  cones 
built  up  of  grain-stalks  and  filled  the  hot  air  with 
golden  dust. 


SALAMANCA  5 

This  is  Salamanca  of  to-day,  seemingly  robbed  of 
all  but  her  rich  vowels.  The  whole  city,  like  her  two 
cathedrals,  bears  traces  of  the  dynasties  that  have 
swept  over  her.  Their  footprints  are  everywhere. 
Hannibal's  legions  passed  through  Roman  Salman- 
tica  on  their  victorious  march  to  Rome,  and  the  city 
soon  afterwards  became  a  military  station  in  the 
province  of  Lusitania.  Plutarch  praises  the  valor  of 
her  women.  Age  after  age  generals  have  built  her 
bridges  and  the  towers  and  walls  that  surround  the 
valley  and  the  three  hills,  on  one  of  which  stands  her 
supreme  mediaeval  creation. 

From  the  eighth  century  Salamanca  became  an 
apple  of  discord  between  Moslem  bands  and  the 
forces  of  early  Castilian  kings.  Crescent  and  Cross 
constantly  supplanting  each  other  on  her  turrets. 
Not  until  the  latter  half  of  the  eleventh  century,  in 
the  days  of  King  Alfonso  VI,  were  the  Moors  driven 
south  of  Leon,  and  Salamanca  could  at  last  claim  to 
be  body  and  soul  Christian.  The  safety  of  the  city 
was  finally  assured  by  Alfonso's  conquest  of  Toledo. 

The  university,  destined  to  become  so  famous,  was 
founded  by  Alfonso  IX  about  1230.  Among  the 
Arab  rulers  in  Spain,  there  were  not  a  few  as  eager  as 
their  co-believers  in  eastern  Islam  to  learn  all  that 
the  civilized  world  could  teach  in  art  and  science. 
The  Caliphate  of  Cordova  had  from  the  tenth  century 
drawn  to  its  schools  and  academies  proficients  in 
astronomy,  mathematics,  and  jurisprudence,  as  well 
as  in  the  more  graceful  arts  of  music,  rhetoric,  and 
poetry.  The  monks  of  Cluny,  belonging  to  the  Order 
of  Saint  Benedict,  then  the  most  influential  in 
Europe,  now  became  domiciled  in  Salamanca  under 


6  THE  CATHEDRALS   OF  SPAIN 

the  protection  of  King  Alfonso.  They  contributed 
the  arts  of  France,  preeminently  architecture,  and  the 
training  of  their  order  as  instructors  and  veracious 
compilers  of  historical  annals  to  the  learning  and  skill 
already  established  by  the  followers  of  Mahomet 
in  several  cities  of  the  Spanish  Peninsula.  Thus  the 
science  and  arts  of  the  Orient  joined  forces  with  those 
of  the  Occident  within  the  strong  walls  of  Salamanca 
and  f  oimded  there  an  illustrious  seat  of  learning.  Only 
three  universities,  Oxford,^  Paris,  and  Bologna,  could 
boast  a  greater  age,  but  Salamanca  soon  attained 
such  eminence  as  to  rank  with  these  by  papal  decree 
among  the  **four  lamps  of  the  world."  In  the  six- 
teenth century,  she  numbered  over  seven  thousand 
scholars.  Among  those  destined  to  become  famous 
in  the  world's  history  were  Saint  Dominic,  Ignatius 
Loyola,  Fray  Luis  of  Leon,  and  Calderon. 

To-day  solitude  and  intellectual  stagnation  reign 
in  the  halls  and  courts  of  this  once  renowned  uni- 
versity. In  a  few  half -empty  lecture-rooms  the  rustic 
now  receives  an  elementary  education,  as  he  listens 
to  the  cathedral  chimes  across  the  sunlit  courtyard. 

Within  the  crumbling  crenelations  of  the  ancient 
battlements  twenty-four  once  large  parishes  are  more 
or  less  abandoned  or  laid  waste  with  their  convents, 
monasteries,  and  palaces. 

The  history  of  Salamanca's  ecclesiastical  archi- 
tecture is  connected  with  the  campaigns  which  were 
carried  on  in  Castile  and  Leon  at  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  and  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  centuries. 
These  had  established  the  dominion  of   King   Al- 

*  The  precedence  of  Oxford  was  established  by  the  decree  of  Con- 
stance of  1414. 


KEY  OF  PLANS  OF  NEW  AND  OLD  CATHEDRALS  OF  SALAMANCA 


A.  Old  Cathedral. 

B.  New  Cathedral. 

C.  C.  Crossing. 

D.  Cloisters. 


E.  Choir. 

F.  Apse. 

G.  6.  Apsidal  Chapels. 
H.        Altar. 


SALAMANCA  7 

fonso  VI,  and  the  great  hifluence  of  the  distinguished 
immigrant  prelates  of  the  French  orders.  King 
Alfonso  left  Castile  to  his  daughter  Urraca,  who,  with 
her  husband,  Count  Raymond  of  Burgundy,  settled 
in  Salamanca.  The  old  city,  which  had  suffered  so 
long  and  terribly  from  the  successive  fortunes  of  war 
and  its  quickly  shifting  masters,  was  once  more  to 
feel  the  blessings  of  law  and  order.  To  replace  its 
sad  depopulation.  Count  Raymond  allotted  the  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  city  to  newcomers  of  the  most 
different  nationalities,  —  Castilians,  Gallegos,  Moz- 
arabes,  Basques,  and  Gascons.  Among  them  were 
naturally  pilgrims  and  monks,  who  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  every  colonizing  enterprise  of  the  day, 
introducing  new  ideas,  arts,  and  craftsmen's  skill. 
After  his  conquest  of  Toledo,  Alfonso  VI  placed  on 
the  various  episcopal  thrones  of  his  new  dominion 
Benedictine  monks  of  Cluny,  —  men  of  unusual 
ability  and  energy.  The  great  Bernard,  who  had  been 
crowned  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  had  brought  with  him 
many  brethren  from  the  mother  house,  whose  patri- 
mony was  architecture.  Among  them  was  a  young 
Frenchman  from  Perigueux  in  Aquitaine,  Jeronimo 
Visquio,  whose  ability  as  organizer  and  builder,  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1120,  left  great  results 
wherever  he  labored,  and  most  especially  in  Sala- 
manca. He  was  the  personification  of  the  Church 
Militant  of  his  time,  —  fighting  side  by  side  with 
the  most  romantic  hero  of  Spanish  history  and 
legend,  confessing  him  on  his  death-bed,  and  finally 
consigning  him  to  his  tomb.  Jeronimo  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  See  of  Valencia  to  that  of  Zamora, 
to  which  Salamanca  was  subject,  and  shortly  after- 


8  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

wards  Salamanca  was  elevated  to  episcopal  dignity 
by  Pope  Calixtus  II,  Count  Raymond's  brother. 
Even  in  the  days  of  the  Goths,  we  find  mention  of 
prelates  of  Salamanca  who  voiced  their  ideas  in  the 
Councils  of  Toledo,  and  later  followed,  for  such  scanty 
protection  as  it  offered,  the  Court  of  the  early  Cas- 
tilian  kings.  In  calling  Jeronimo  to  Salamanca,  Ray- 
mond had,  however,  a  very  different  purpose  in  mind 
from  that  of  attaching  to  his  court  an  already 
celebrated  churchman.  He  understood  the  vital 
importance  of  building  up  within  his  city  a  powerful 
episcopal  seat  with  a  great  church.  Grants  and  other 
assistance  were  at  once  given  the  churchman  and 
were  in  fact  continued  through  successive  reigns  until, 
with  indulgences,  benefices,  and  privileges,  it  grew  to 
be  a  feudal  power.  As  late  as  the  fifteenth  century, 
the  workmen  of  the  Cathedral  were  exempted  from 
tributes  and  duties  by  the  Spanish  kings.^  During 
the  first  years  of  Jeronimo's  activity  and  the  earliest 
work  on  the  building,  we  find  curious  descriptions 
of  how  the  Moorish  prisoners  were  put  to  work  on 
the  walls,  even  to  the  number  of  "  five  hundred  Mos- 
lem carpenters  and  masons." 

The  Cathedral  stands  upon  one  of  the  hills  of  the 
old  city.  The  exact  date  of  its  inception,  as  well  as 
the  name  of  the  original  architect,  is  doubtful,  but  it 
is  certain  that  it  was  begun  not  long  after  the  year 
1100.    At  Jeronimo's  death  it  could  not  have  been 

^  Ego  comes  Raimundus  una  pariter  cum  uxore  mea  Orraca  filia 
Adefonsi  regis,  placuit  nobis  ut  propter  amorem  Dei  et  restaurationem 
ecclesie  S.  Marie  Salamantine  sedis  et  propter  animas  nostras  vel  de 
parentum  nostrorum  vobis  domino  Jeronimo  pontefici  et  magistro 
nostro  quatinus  saceremus  vobis  sicut  et  facimus  cartulam  donationis 
vel  ut  ita  decam  bonifacti. 


SALAMANCA  9 

far  advanced,  but  the  crossing  and  the  Capilla  Mayor 
could  be  consecrated  and  employed  for  services  in  the 
middle  of  the  century,  and  the  first  cloisters  were 
built  soon  after.  The  nave  and  side  aisles  followed, 
their  arches  being  closed  in  the  middle  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.  The  lantern  was  probably  placed 
over  the  crossing  as  late  as  the  year  1200.  Following 
an  order  inverse  to  that  pursued  by  later  Gothic 
architects,  the  Romanesque  builders  finished  their 
work  with  the  eastern  end. 

Its  building  extended  over  long  periods  marked 
by  a  gain  in  confidence  and  skill  and  a  development 
of  architectural  style,  so  that  in  its  stones  we  may 
read  a  most  interesting  story  of  different  epochs,  and 
to  serious  students  of  church-building  the  old  Cath- 
edral of  Salamanca  is  possibly  the  most  interesting 
edifice  in  Spain.  It  is  magnificent  in  its  early,  virile 
manhood.  The  tracing  of  the  many  and  varied  in- 
fluences is  as  fascinating  as  it  is  bewildering.  Every 
student  and  authority  on  the  subject  has  a  new  con- 
ception or  some  definite  final  conclusion  in  regard 
to  its  many  surprising  elements.  No  student  of 
Spanish  architecture  has  studied  its  origin  with 
greater  insight  or  knowledge  than  Seiior  Don  Lam- 
perez  y  Romea  in  his  recent  luminous  work  on  Span- 
ish ecclesiastical  architecture. 

To  say  that  the  old  Cathedral  was  wholly  a  French 
importation  would  be  unjust;  to  speak  of  it  as  sprung 
entirely  from  native  precedents  and  inspiration 
would  show  equal  ignorance.  No,  there  were  many 
and  subtle  influences  affecting  its  original  conception 
and  formation;  first  of  all  and  naturally,  those  de- 
rived from  Burgundy,  now  only  partially  visible,  as 


10  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

for  instance  the  vaulting  of  the  nave.  These  preced- 
ents have  been  altered  or  concealed  in  the  evolution 
of  the  building.  Byzantine  influences  follow,  —  most 
obvious  in  the  magnificent  dome  crowning  the  cross- 
ing. The  School  of  Aquitaine  of  course  made  itself 
felt  through  Bishop  Jeronimo  as  well  as  several  of 
his  successors.  Great  portions  are  Gothic,  slightly 
visible  in  some  of  the  later  exterior  work,  but  through- 
out in  the  last  interior  portions  of  the  great  arches 
and  vaults. 

After  carefully  considering  all  these  influences  and 
going  to  their  roots,  we  may  conclude  that  the  old 
Cathedral  of  Salamanca  is  both  in  plan  and  structure 
a  Romanesque  church  of  the  Burgundian  School  built 
on  Spanish  soil  by  French  monks  from  Cluny,  who 
in  their  new  surroundings  were  strongly  affected  by 
Byzantine  and  Oriental  influences  and  possibly  by 
the  original  Spanish  or  Moorish  development  of  the 
dome.  At  a  later  date,  under  Aquitaine  bishops,  cer- 
tain forms  of  vaulting  characteristic  of  their  region 
were  adopted  as  well  as  devices  to  bring  about  the 
transition  between  the  circular  dome  and  the  square 
base. 

Strange  to  say  it  is  a  Romanesque  church  erected 
at  the  time  when  what  are  regarded  as  the  finest 
Gothic  cathedrals  were  being  built  in  France.  The 
Spaniard  clung  more  tenaciously  to  the  older  style, 
which  in  many  ways  adapted  itself  better  to  his 
climate  and  requirements,  while  it  easily  flowed  into 
native  streams  of  inspiration  to  form  with  them  a 
mighty  whole.  The  church  is  neither  French  nor 
Spanish  nor  Arab  nor  Italian  in  its  various  com- 
position, but  distinctly  Romanesque  in  spirit. 


Photo  by  Author 

THRESHING  OUTSn)E  THE  WALLS  OF  SALAMANCA 


SALAMANCA  11 

The  plan  is  in  general  that  of  the  old  basilica:  a 
nave  with  side  aisles  of  five  bays,  a  crossing  prolonged 
one  bay  to  the  south  beyond  the  side  aisle,  while  to 
the  east  the  nave  and  side  aisles  all  terminate  in  a 
semicircular  apsidal  chapel.  A  portion  of  the  south- 
ern wall  of  the  huge  new  Cathedral  replaces  the 
northern  one  of  the  old  church  by  encroaching  on  its 
side  aisle.  A  flight  of  eighteen  broad  stone  steps 
occupies  the  northern  bay  of  the  old  Cathedral's 
crossing  and  leads  from  its  considerably  lower  pave- 
ment up  to  the  level  of  the  new  one.  To  the  south  lie 
the  great  cloisters.  It  was  a  plan  which  for  its  time 
was  undoubtedly  as  magnificent  in  scale  as  it  seemed 
diminutive  and  insignificant  in  the  sixteenth  century 
when  the  new  Cathedral  was  built. 

The  massiveness  on  which  the  old  Romanesque 
builders  depended  to  obtain  their  elevations  and  sup- 
port the  great  weight  is  most  impressive.  The  outer 
walls  have  in  some  places  a  thickness  of  ten  feet  and 
the  piers  are  much  larger  in  section  than  those  of  the 
new  Cathedral  which  carry  vaults  soaring  far  above 
the  roof  of  the  earlier  structure.  The  choir  had  form- 
erly blocked  the  clear  run  of  the  nave;  to  the  good 
fortune  of  the  old  church  and  the  injury  of  the  new, 
this  was  removed  to  the  latter  when  it  was  sufficiently 
advanced  to  receive  it.  Unfortunately,  the  plan  of 
the  west  front  was  very  radically  disturbed  by  the 
building  of  the  new  Cathedral,  the  two  old  towers 
flanking  the  entrance  being  removed  and  a  narrow 
passage,  which  leads  into  the  nave  through  the  im- 
mense later  masses  of  masonry,  taking  the  place  of 
the  old  entrance.  The  nave  is  33  feet  wide,  190  feet 
long  and  60  feet  high;  the  side  aisles  are  20  feet 


It  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

broad,  180  feet  long  and  40  feet  high,  thus  surpris- 
ingly high  in  proportion  to  the  nave. 

The  main  piers  which  subdivide  nave  and  side 
aisles  are  most  interesting,  as  their  greater  portion 
belongs  to  the  original  structure.  They  are  faced  by 
semicircular  shafts  which  carry  simple,  unmolded, 
transverse  ribs  in  the  central  aisle.  A  small  additional 
columnar  section  is  seen  in  the  angles  of  the  piers, 
supporting  in  an  awkward  position,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  the  interposed  corbel,  molded,  diagonal 
vaulting  ribs.  Columns,  reaching  to  about  two 
thirds  of  the  height  of  the  tall  shafts  of  the  nave,  carry 
the  arches  separating  nave  from  side  aisles.  The 
undecorated  base-molds  of  the  total  composite  piers 
are  all  supported  upon  a  heavy,  widely  projecting, 
common  drum,  a  curious  remnant  of  the  earlier 
single  Byzantine  pillar  of  but  one  body  and  base. 

The  capitals  are  among  the  great  glories  of  the 
edifice.  They  are  remarkable  from  every  point  of 
view,  and  among  the  finest  Byzantine  extant,  com- 
parable to  the  best  of  Saint  Mark's  or  of  Sancta 
Sofia.  The  acanthus  leaves  are  carved  with  all  the 
jewel-like  sparkle  and  crispness  and  the  play  of  light 
and  shade  of  the  best  period;  the  life  and  spring  of 
a  living  stem  are  in  them.  Their  oriental  parentage 
is  apparent  at  a  glance.  Much  of  the  carving  is 
alive  with  all  the  fancy  and  imagination  of  the  day, 
— beasts  and  monsters,  real  and  mythical  animals, 
masks  and  contorted  human  figures  and  devils  inter- 
lace on  the  bells  and  peer  out  from  the  foliage.  The 
execution  is  quite  unrestrained.  It  has  a  divergency 
which  must  have  had  its  unconscious  origin  in  the 
different  antique  caps  serving  again  in  the  early 


SALAMANCA  IS 

Byzantine  edifices.  The  ancient  carvers  must  have 
realized  the  full  importance  of  sculptural  relief  in 
their  poorly  lighted  edifices.  Again,  the  corbels  which 
carry  the  diagonal  ribs  are  formed  by  crude  contorted 
beings  and  animals,  in  some  instances  bearing  figures 
leaning  against  the  lower  surfaces  of  the  diagonal 
ribs  and  intended  still  further  to  conceal  its  faulty 
spring.  At  the  intersections  of  the  diagonal  ribs  are 
bosses  with  figures  at  the  salient  points. 

With  an  astonishment  verging  on  incredulity,  we 
look  up  at  the  vaulting  supported  by  these  piers. 
In  place  of  the  great  Burgundian  barrel  vaults  above 
the  nave  and  semicircular  arches  between  nave  and 
side  aisles,  there  are  pointed  Gothic  transverse  arches 
and  quadripartite  vaulting  of  low  spring  and  sim- 
plest sections,  but  nevertheless  ogival.  It  is  evident 
both  by  the  appearance  of  shafts,  as  well  as  by 
other  indications,  that  it  could  not  have  been  the 
original  construction,  but  rather  one  reached  at  a 
later  day  when  the  new  art  was  supplanting  the  old, 
a  substitution  for  the  original  Romanesque  vaulting; 
the  upper  windows  and  the  most  glorious  lantern  are 
all  constructed  in  the  Romanesque  style  to  which  the 
Spanish  builders  clung  so  long  and  tenaciously  in 
preference  to  the  subtle  and  nervous  French  Gothic 
which  suited  neither  their  temperament  nor  condi- 
tions. The  church  must  originally  have  been  carried 
out  in  their  more  native  art,  which  they  better  under- 
stood. 

The  western  termination  of  the  church  is  formed 
by  three  semicircular  apses  crowned  by  semicircular 
vaults.  In  the  central  one,  closed  from  the  transept 
by  a  simple  iron  reja,  stands  the  high  altar  backed 


14'  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

by  a  great  Gothic  retablo  of  fifty-five  panels  and 
crowned  in  the  vaulting  by  a  most  remarkable  paint- 
ing. In  the  walls  of  the  niches  is  a  series  of  tombs 
of  persons  with  varying  claims  to  our  interest  and 
esteem.  Its  original  exclusiveness  in  the  reception 
of  royal  princes  of  pure  lineage  gave  way  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  to  admit  princesses  and  bastards. 
Here  lies  the  Dean  of  Santiago  and  Archdeacon  of 
Salamanca,  a  natural  son  of  the  King  of  Leon.  His 
mother,  owing  to  her  short-comings,  got  no  farther 
than  the  cloister  vaults.  Some  one  has  extracted 
from  the  archives  of  the  old  Cathedral  the  origin  of 
the  ancient  mural  decoration  above  the  high  altar. 
On  the  15th  of  December,  1445,  the  Chapter  engaged 
the  services  of  Nicholas  Florentino,  painter,  who  for 
a  consideration  of  75,000  maravedis  "of  current 
white  Castilian  money,  which  is  worth  two  old 
white  ones  and  three  new,"  promised  to  complete  the 
painting  "from  top  to  bottom."  On  a  rich  blue  back- 
ground the  Supreme  Judge  stands  in  the  centre;  to 
the  right,  is  a  regiment  of  the  dead  clad  in  white 
raiment,  graciously  welcomed  by  angels  with  trum- 
pets; on  the  left,  the  damned  are  being  hustled  into 
hell  by  devils.  As  a  well-preserved  example  of  very 
ancient  Spanish  painting,  it  certainly  is  of  intrinsic 
value  and  interest  and  recalls  the  naive  representa- 
tions of  early  Italian  artists. 

It  is  unusually  well  lighted  for  a  Romanesque 
church,  which  is  naturally  owing  to  the  dome  and  not 
to  the  various  windows  or  roses.  There  is  no  tri- 
forium,  but  the  side  walls,  transepts,  and  apses  are 
pierced  by  openings  of  true  Romanesque  type.  The 
thick  masonry  has  been  most  timidly  pierced  for 


SALAMANCA  15 

narrow,  round-headed  slits  of  light,  with  splayed 
jambs  and  colonettes  engaged  to  their  sides  carrying 
the  typically  ornamented  archmolds  enframing  the 
whole.  The  stone  muUions  of  the  two  remaining  roses 
are  equally  timid  and  typical,  but  have  not  sujffered 
like  the  windows  from  the  encroachment  of  the  new 
edifice. 

The  pavement  undulates  like  that  of  Saint  Mark's. 
High  above  the  crossing  of  nave  and  transepts  rises 
the  tower  flooding  the  church  with  light  and  intern- 
ally as  well  as  externally  expressing  one  of  the  grand- 
est architectural  conceptions  of  the  Spanish  Penin- 
sula. 

Superlatives  can  alone  describe  the  Torre  del 
Gallo,  —  truly  a  product  and  glory  of  Spanish  soil. 
Many  writers  have  argued  its  similarity  to  the  domes 
of  Aquitaine  churches,  to  Saint  Front  of  Perigueux 
and  others,  but  it  is  distinctly  different  from  and  far 
superior  to  those  with  which  it  has  been  compared 
in  the  magnificently  interposed  members  of  the  drum, 
which  shed  light  into  the  church  through  their  open- 
ings and  raise  the  cupola  high  enough  to  make  of  it 
a  finely  proportioned,  crowning  member.  The  cupola 
alone,  certainly  not  the  general  disposition,  may  be 
regarded  as  a  copy  of  earlier  examples. 

The  internal  and  external  cores  have  been  admir- 
ably managed,  the  outer  one  being  much  higher  to 
be  in  correct  proportion  to  the  surrounding  masonry 
which  it  crowns.  The  interior  transition  from  the 
square  to  the  round  base,  twenty-eight  feet  in  dia- 
meter, is  rather  clumsily  managed.  The  successive 
masonry  courses  of  the  angles  step  out  in  Byzantine 
fashion  in  front  of  each  other.  The  four  piers  of  the 


16  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

crossing,  upon  which  the  pendentives  descend,  are  no 
larger  than  the  main  piers  of  the  nave.  Above  the 
pendentives  which  stand  out,  in  their  undecorated 
masonry,  the  circle  is  girdled  by  a  carved  cyma,  above 
which  rises  a  double  arcade  of  sixteen  arches,  each  arch 
flanked  by  strong  and  simple  columns  with  Byzan- 
tine caps  of  barely  indicated  foliage.  Powerful,  inter- 
mediate columnar  shafts  separate  the  superimposed 
arcades  and  carry  on  their  caps  the  sixteen  ribs  that 
shoot  upwards  and  meet  in  the  great  floral  boss  at 
the  apex  of  the  inner  dome.  The  lower  arcades  are 
semicircular,  the  upper,  trefoiled,  while  the  inter- 
mediate shafts  are  broken  by  two  band  courses.  All 
the  moldings,  and  especially  the  energetic,  muscular 
ribs,  are  splendidly  simple  and  vigorous  in  their  un- 
decorated profiles.  The  lower  arcade  is  blind,  the 
upper  admits  light  through  timidly  slender  apertures, 
with  the  exception  of  every  fourth  arch,  which  coin- 
cides with  an  exterior  turret. 

Externally  the  lantern  is  even  more  remarkable 
than  internally.  As  seen  from  within,  it  is  faced 
alternately  by  four  tympanums  and  four  turrets. 
These  are  broken  by  long,  narrow,  round-headed 
openings,  vivified  by  ball  moldings  ornamenting  the 
heavy  rounding  of  their  splays.  The  tympanums,  as 
well  as  the  windows  between  them,  and  the  turrets 
are  flanked  by  a  series  of  Romanesque  columns. 
Their  grouping,  the  deep  reveals  and  resulting  shad- 
ows, the  play  of  light  and  shade  brought  out  in  the 
foliage  of  their  various  caps,  which  is  but  indicated 
in  the  simple  manner  of  the  style,  and  the  adjacent 
moldings,  all  give  a  most  archaic  impression.  The 
roofing  of  the  turrets,  as  well  as  that  of  the  outer 


Photo  by  J.  Laeoste.  Madrid 


CATHEDRAL  OF  SALAMANCA 
The  Tower  of  the  Cock 


SALAMANCA  17 

dome,  suggests  a  stone  coat-of-mail.  The  flags  are  laid 
in  scallops  or  stepped  rows,  like  the  scales  of  a  fish, 
giving  a  far  tighter  joint  than  the  stone  channels 
covering  the  roofing  of  Avila  Cathedral.  The  outline 
of  the  dome  is  that  of  a  cone  with  a  slightly  modulated 
curve,  perhaps  unconsciously  affected  by  a  Moorish 
delineation.  The  angles  are  marked  by  bold  crockets. 
Above,  crowning  the  apex,  perches  the  cock,  gayly 
facing  whatever  part  of  the  heavens  the  wind  blows 
from.  There  is  an  everlasting  triumph  in  it  all,  re- 
minding one  not  a  little  of  that  won  at  a  later  date  in 
Santa  Maria  del  Fiore.  Salamanca  holds  the  religious 
triumph  of  a  militant  age;  Florence,  the  sacred  glory 
of  an  artistic  one.  The  lofty  aspiration,  boldly  hewn 
in  the  Spanish  fortress,  is  no  less  admirable  than  the 
constructive  genius  rounded  in  Brunelleschi's  dome. 

The  remainder  of  the  interior  is  now  singularly 
undecorated  and  severe.  The  entrance  has  been  so 
much  transformed  by  later  additions  that,  in  place 
of  the  original  portal  and  vestibule,  there  remains 
only  a  vestibule  considerably  narrower  than  the  nave, 
compressed  on  one  side  by  the  huge  towers  of  the 
new  Cathedral,  and  on  the  other  by  later  alterations. 
The  two  older  towers  which  contained,  one  the 
chimes  and  the  other  the  dwelling  of  the  Alcaide, 
have  quite  disappeared.  The  vestibule  has  excellent 
allegorical  sculptures  and  Gothic  statuary. 

The  northern  aisle  still  has  a  few  mural  paintings, 
but  the  larger  part  of  those  which  once  illuminated 
the  bare  walls  were  washed  off  by  a  bigoted  prelate 
in  the  fifteenth  century  and  the  present  gray  of  the 
stone,  as  seen  in  the  dim  light,  looks  cold  compared 
to  the  rich  gold  of  the  exterior  masonry  bathed  in 


18  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

sunshine.  The  excellence  of  the  vaulting  is  such  that 
to-day  hardly  a  fissure  or  crack  is  visible.  The  old 
pavement  consists  of  great  rectangles  marked  by  red 
sandstone  borders  and  bluestone  centre  slabs,  the 
size  of  a  grave,  with  central  dowels  for  lifting  and 
closing.  In  the  southern  transept-arm  leading  to 
the  cloisters,  some  of  the  original  windows  are  still 
preserved  with  their  fine  columns,  archi volts,  and 
carved  moldings.  The  ribs  of  the  vaults  are  de- 
corated by  zigzag  ornamentation,  and  here  a  few 
magnificent  old  tombs  remain  intact  in  their  ancient 
niches. 

There  is,  properly  speaking,  no  exterior  elevation 
of  the  whole  structure.  The  western  front  is  hidden  by 
the  modernization,  the  north  and  south,  by  the  new 
Cathedral,  the  cloisters,  and  squalid,  encumbering 
walls  and  chapels.  From  the  "Patio  Chico"  alone, 
the  old  structure  can  be  seen  unobstructed.  The 
curves  of  the  apses  bulge  out  like  full-bellied  sails, 
their  gi*eat  masonry  surfaces  broken  by  the  small 
windows,  which  are  cut  with  enormous  splays  and 
encased  and  arched  by  typical  Romanesque  features, 
the  windows  protected  by  heavy  Moorish  grilles. 
Engaged  shafts  run  up  the  sides  of  the  central  apse 
to  below  a  quatrefoil  gallery,  originally  a  shelter  for 
the  archers  stationed  to  defend  the  building.  Two 
fortress-towers  formed  the  eastern  angles  north  and 
south;  the  one  to  the  north  was  removed  in  building 
the  new  Cathedral.  A  scaled  turret,  broken  by  later 
Gothic  pediments,  crosses  the  one  remaining.  Above 
all  soars  the  dome,  the  inspiration  of  our  greatest 
American  Romanesque  temple.  Trinity  Church  in 
Boston. 


SALAMANCA  1« 

At  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  the  houses  of  a 
sacrilegious  Salamanca  gentleman  were  confiscated 
and  given  to  the  Cathedral  Chapter,  who  forthwith 
began  the  cloisters  upon  their  site.  They  lie  to  the 
south  and  thus  came  to  be  planned  and  built  into 
the  original  fabric  and  with  Romanesque  arches  and 
wooden  roof.  They  were  practically  entirely  rebuilt 
in  the  fifteenth  century  and  again  restored  in  the 
eighteenth.  Curious,  elaborate,  vaulted  chapels — in 
one  of  which  the  Mozarabic  rite,  the  ancient  Gothic 
ritual  prolonged  under  Moslem  rule,  is  still  occasion- 
ally celebrated  —  adjoin  it  to  the  east  and  south. 
Recently,  old  Byzantine  niches  and  tombs,  some  of 
great  interest,  have  been  uncovered  in  the  outer 
walls. 

f  I 

II 

"Most  Reverend  Father  in  Christ,  Lord  Cardinal, 
our  much  beloved  and  very  dear  Friend;  We  the  King 
and  the  Queen  of  Castile,  of  Leon,  and  of  Aragon,  Sicily, 
etc.,  send  this  to  salute  you,  as  one  whom  we  love 
and  esteem  highly,  and  to  show  we  desire  God  may 
give  life,  health,  and  honor,  even  to  the  extent  of 
your  own  desire.  We  inform  you  that  the  City  of 
Salamanca  is  one  of  the  most  notable,  populous,  and 
principal  cities  of  our  kingdoms,  in  which  there  is  a 
society  of  scholars,  and  where  all  sciences  may  be 
studied,  and  to  which  people  from  all  states  continu- 
ally come.  The  Cathedral  Church  of  the  said  city  is 
very  small,  dark,  and  low,  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
divine  services  cannot  be  celebrated  in  such  a  manner 
as  they  should  be,  especially  during  feast-days  when 


20  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

a  large  concourse  of  people  streams  to  the  Cathedral, 
and  by  the  Grace  of  God,  the  said  city  increases  and 
enlarges  day  by  day.  And  considering  the  extreme 
narrowness  of  the  said  Church,  the  Administrator 
and  Dean  and  Chapter  have  agreed  to  rebuild  it, 
making  it  as  large  as  is  necessary  and  convenient, 
according  to  the  population  of  the  said  city.  This 
furthermore  as  the  form  and  the  fabric  of  the  said 
Church  cannot  be  rebuilt  without  disfigurement. 
And  in  order  to  build  better  and  promptly,  as  the 
said  Church  has  a  very  small  income,  it  is  necessary 
that  our  most  Holy  Father  concede  some  indulgences 
in  the  form  that  the  Bishops  of  Vadajos  and  Astorga, 
our  agents  and  emissaries  to  your  Court,  will  tell  your 
Reverend  Fatherhood,  and  we  request  you  to  beseech 
His  Holiness  to  concede  the  said  indulgences.  There- 
fore we  affectionately  beg  you  to  undertake  the  mat- 
ter in  the  manner  which  we  affectionately  supplicate, 
because  our  Lord  will  be  served,  and  the  Divine 
Service  increased,  and  we  will  receive  it  from  you  in 
peculiar  gratitude.  Regarding  this,  we  wrote  details 
to  the  said  bishops.  We  beg  you  to  give  them  credit 
and  favor.  Most  Reverend  Father  in  Christ,  Lord 
Cardinal,  our  very  dear  and  beloved  friend,  may 
God  our  Lord  at  all  times  especially  guard  and  favor 
your  Reverend  Fatherhood. 

"I,  THE  King,  I,  the  Queen. 

**  Seville,  the  I7th  day  of  February,  in  the  ninety-first  year." 

That  was  the  way  the  Catholic  Kings  wrote  to  the 
Cardinal  of  Angers  to  make  plain  to  him  that  the 
plain,  dark,  small,  old  Cathedral  was  no  longer  in 
keeping  with  their  glory  or  the  times,  and  to  begin 


SALAMANCA  £1 

the  movement  for  a  larger  edifice.  The  stern  sim- 
plicity of  the  ancient  Church  was  indeed  out  of 
harmony  with  the  brilliance  and  craving  for  lavish 
display  and  magnificent  proportions  which  character- 
ize the  age  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

Pope  Innocent  VIII  answered  the  appeal  in  the 
year  1491,  granting  permission  for  the  transference 
of  the  services  to  a  larger  edifice  more  fitting  the 
congregation  of  Salamanca,  now  at  the  zenith  of  its 
prosperity  and  academic  renown.  In  1508  Ferdinand 
passed  through  Salamanca,  and  was  again  sufficiently 
fired  by  religious  zeal  to  issue  the  following  order: 
"The  King  to  the  Master  Mayor  of  the  works  of  the 
Church  of  Seville.  Since  it  has  now  to  be  decided 
how  the  Church  of  Salamanca  may  be  made,  in  order 
that  its  design  may  be  made  as  it  ought,  I  consent 
that  you  be  present  there.  I  charge  and  command 
you  instantly  to  leave  all  other  things,  and  come  to 
the  said  City  of  Salamanca,  that,  jointly  with  the 
other  persons  who  are  there,  you  may  see  the  site 
where  the  said  Church  has  to  be  built,  and  may  make 
a  drawing  for  it,  and  in  all  things  may  give  your 
judgment  how  it  may  be  most  suited  to  the  Divine 
Worship  and  to  the  omature  of  the  said  Church; 
which,  having  come  to  pass,  then  your  salary  shall 
be  paid,  which  I  shall  receive  return  for  in  this  serv- 
ice. Done  in  Valladolid,  the  23d  day  of  November, 
1509.'' 

The  famous  Master  of  Toledo,  Anton  Egas,  re- 
ceived a  similar  summons  (served  in  his  absence  on 
his  two  maids),  but  neither  architect  seems  to  have 
been  over-zealous  in  carrying  out  the  royal  commands, 
for  next  year  Queen  Juana,  Ferdinand's  daughter. 


22  THE  CATHEDRALS   OF  SPAIN 

growing  impatient,  writes  again:  "I  find  it  now  good, 
as  I  command  you,  that  immediately  that  this  my 
letter  shall  be  made  known  to  you,  without  making 
any  excuse  or  delay,  you  go  to  the  said  City  of 
Salamanca." 

This  produced  the  desired  result,  for  the  two  de- 
linquent architects  hurried  to  the  city,  studied  the 
conditions,  and,  after  considerable  squabbling  with 
each  other  and  the  Chapter,  many  drawings,  and  a 
lengthy  report,  agreed  to  disagree.  This  was  too 
much  for  the  Bishop,  and  without  further  ado  he 
summoned  on  the  3d  of  September,  1512,  a  famous 
conclave  of  all  the  celebrated  architects  in  Spain  to 
pass  on  the  report  of  Egas  of  Toledo  and  Rodriguez 
of  Seville  and  settle  the  matter.  Here  sat  besides  Egas, 
Juan  Badajos,  Juan  Gil  de  Hontanon,  Alfonso  Covar- 
rubias,  Juan  de  Orazco,  Juan  de  Alava,  Juan  Tornero, 
Rodrigo  de  Sarabia  and  Juan  Campero.  The  matter 
was  thrashed  out  both  as  to  site  and  form  and  a  final 
report  sent  in,  stating  the  result  of  their  deliberations, 
"and  as  they  were  much  learned  and  skilful  men,  and 
experienced  in  their  art,  their  opinion  ought  certainly 
to  be  acted  on."  However,  to  leave  no  further  doubt, 
every  one  of  them  swore  *'by  God  and  Saint  Mary, 
under  whose  protection  the  Church  is,  and  upon  the 
sign  of  the  Cross,  upon  which  they  all  and  each  of 
them  put  their  hands  bodily,  that  they  had  spoken 
the  entire  truth,  which  each  of  them  did,  saying, 
*So  I  swear,  and  Amen.'"  This  settled  the  business. 
Three  days  afterwards,  Juan  Gil  de  Hontanon,  the 
later  builder  of  Segovia  and  rebuilder  of  the  dome  of 
Seville,  was  named  Maestro  Mayor  and  Juan  Cam- 
pero, his  apprentice. 


SALAMANCA  «8 

On  a  stone  of  the  main  fagade  there  still  stands 
an  inscription  recording  the  solemn  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  on  the  12th  of  May,  1513.  It  was  dedi- 
cated to  the  Mother  and  the  Saviour.  The  wisest  of 
the  resolutions  passed  by  this  wisest  of  architectural 
bodies  was  the  recommendation  to  leave  the  old  edi- 
fice undisturbed. 

Work  was  immediately  started  on  the  western 
entrance  front  and  continued  with  untiring  energy 
by  Juan  Gil  until  his  death  in  1531.  His  two  sons 
assisted  him,  and  they  were  all  constantly  guided  and 
aided  by  a  body  of  the  most  eminent  Spanish  archi- 
tects who  yearly  visited  the  edifice.  On  the  death  of 
Maestro  Alvaro,  six  years  later,  Juan's  son,  Rodrigo 
Gil,  was  selected  as  Maestro  Mayor.  He  naturally 
tried  to  carry  out  all  his  father  had  planned,  building 
with  equal  rapidity  and  no  less  excellence.  By  1560 
the  work  had  been  carried  as  far  towards  the  east  as 
the  crossing.  Amid  immense  popular  rejoicing,  and 
with  ecclesiastical  pomp,  the  Holy  Sacrament  was 
moved  from  the  old  Basilica  to  the  new.  **  Pio  III 
papa,  Philippo  II  rege,  Francisco  Manrieo  de  Lara 
episcopo,  ex  vetere  ad  hoc  templum  facta  translatio 
XXV  mart,  anno  a  Christo  nato  mdlx."  This  of 
course  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  work,  and  arch 
after  arch,  chapel  on  chapel,  rapidly  grew  through 
the  next  decades.  The  bigoted  Philip  naturally 
looked  on  with  favoring  eye.^  Twice  the  work  lan- 
guished, but  was  resumed  through  the  waning  period 

^  Though  to  the  city  itself,  in  which  he  had  been  married,  he  dealt 
the  death-blow  when  he  moved  his  Court  from  Toledo  to  Valladolid 
and  established  a  bishopric  at  Valladolid  (in  1593),  which  had  previ- 
ously been  subject  to  Salamanca. 


24  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

of  the  Gothic  style.  The  new  classicism  was  triumph- 
antly replacing  the  dying  art,  and  the  builders  of 
Salamanca  were  sorely  perplexed  whether  or  not  to 
make  a  radical  departure  to  the  newer  style.  Most 
fortunately,  the  conclave  called  together  at  this  crit- 
ical moment  remained  loyal  to  the  original  concep- 
tion, and  the  Renaissance  only  took  possession  in  or- 
namentation and  the  dome.  Not  until  1733  was  the 
final  "translation"  celebrated.  Later,  earthquakes 
and  lightning  shook  down  both  dome  and  tower,  so 
that  practically  it  was  not  till  the  nineteenth  century 
that  the  last  mortar  was  dry.  The  building  spanned 
a  long  and  glorious  epoch  in  the  city's  history,  from 
a  time  when  her  imperial  master  ruled  the  world 
until  a  foreign  upstart  trampled  her  under  foot. 

The  plan  of  the  new  Cathedral,  like  that  of  Seville, 
is  an  enormous  rectangle  of  ten  bays,  resembling  a 
huge  mosque,  378  feet  long  by  181  feet  wide.  It  con- 
sists of  nave  and  double  side  aisles  without  project- 
ing transept;  square  chapels  fill  the  outer  aisles  as 
well  as  the  bays  of  the  eastern  termination.  After 
much  discussion  it  was  decided  that  the  nave  (130 
feet  high)  should  be  about  one  third  higher  than  the 
first  side  aisles;  the  chapels  are  54  feet  in  height. 

The  choir  blocks  the  third  and  fourth  bays  of  the 
nave,  while  the  Capilla  Mayor  occupies  the  eighth. 
Over  the  sixth  soars  the  lantern.  The  platform  of  the 
Patio  Chico  separates  the  sacristy  and  the  old  Cath- 
edral that  practically  abuts  the  entire  southern  front. 
At  the  southwestern  angle,  the  intersection  of  the 
two  cathedrals  is  hidden  by  the  gigantic  tower.  The 
northern  front  is  admirably  free,  the  whole  structure 
being  visible  on  its  high  granite  platform.     The 


SALAMANCA  «5 

western  front  is  entered  through  the  great  triple 
doorway,  the  central  being  that  of  the  Nacimiento; 
the  northern,  through  the  Puerta  de  las  Ramos,  the 
southern,  through  the  Puerta  del  Patio  Chico. 

Glancing  at  the  plan  as  a  whole,  one  cannot  but 
deplore  that  a  conception  of  such  daring  proportions 
with  no  limitation  of  time  nor  money,  having  centu- 
ries and  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  to  draw  on,  was  not 
conceived  with  that  most  perfect  of  all  Gothic  devel- 
opments, the  semicircular  apsidal  termination.  The 
Spanish,  as  well  as  the  customary  English  eastern 
end,  can  never,  from  any  standpoint  of  ingenuity  or 
beauty,  be  comparable  to  the  amazing  conceptions 
of  Rheims  or  Amiens  or  Paris. 

The  interior  effect  is  expressed  in  one  word,  — 
"grandiloquence."  It  is  a  true  child  of  the  age  which 
conceived  it,  and  the  spirit  which  informed  its  erec- 
tion. If  the  fabric  of  the  old  Cathedral  is  essentially 
Romanesque,  with  later  Gothic  ornamentation  and 
constructional  features,  the  new  is  entirely  Gothic, 
with  Renaissance  additions.  The  spirit  and  form  are 
Gothic,  —  Spanish  Gothic,  —  and  one  of  its  last 
sighs.  The  fire  was  extinct.  By  display  and  sculp- 
tural fireworks,  by  bold  flaunting  of  mechanical 
mastery,  a  last  trial  and  glorious  failure  were  made 
in  an  attempt  to  emulate  the  marvelous  structural 
logic  and  simplicity  which  had  marked  the  Gothic 
edifices  of  an  earlier  age. 

The  blending  of  the  two  styles  does  not  jar,  but  has 
been  effected  with  a  harmony  scarcely  to  be  expected. 
If  one  were  not  hampered  with  an  architectural  edu- 
cation, one  could  admire  it  all,  instead  of  criticizing 
and  wondering  why  a  Renaissance  lantern  is  raised 


26  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

upon  a  Gothic  crown,  and  why  a  fine  Renaissance 
balustrade  above  Gothic  band-courses  separates  the 
nave  arches  from  its  clerestory,  while  those  of  the 
side  aisles  are  separated  by  a  Gothic  one.  The  in- 
terior fabric  itself  is  fine:  it  is  more  in  detail,  in  the 
stringiness  and  multiplicity  of  moldings,  in  the  fine- 
ness, subdivision,  and  elaboration  of  carvings  and 
ornament  that  one  feels  the  advancing  degeneration. 
From  being  frank  and  simple,  it  has  become  insincere 
and  profuse. 

The  Gothic  window  openings,  which  had  been 
i^eadily  developing  larger  and  bolder  up  to  their 
culmination  in  the  glorious  conservatory  of  Leon,  had 
again  grown  smaller  and  more  fitted  to  the  climate. 
In  Salamanca  they  are  small  and  high  up.  Nave  and 
side  aisles  both  carry  clerestories;  that  of  the  nave 
consisting  of  seventy -two  windows  in  alternate  bays 
of  three  windows  and  two  windows  with  circle  above, 
that  of  the  side  aisle,  of  one  large  window  subdivided 
within  its  own  field.  The  chapel  walls  are  also  pierced 
by  smaller  openings.  Some  have  good  though  not 
excellent  coloring. 

The  form  of  the  Renaissance  lantern  is  not  infelic- 
itous, either  from  the  inside  or  outside.  It  was  first 
built  by  Sacchetti.  The  double  base  is  octagonal,  with 
corners  strengthened  by  columns  and  pilasters  and 
executed  with  much  artistic  skill.  Were  it  not  for 
the  vulgar  interior  coloring  and  ornamentation  of 
cherubs,  scrolls,  and  scallop  shells,  contorted,  dis- 
proportionate, and  unmeaning,  its  high,  brilliantly 
lighting  semicircle  might  be  pleasing.  Horrible  de- 
coration fills  the  panels  of  the  octagonal  base.  The 
dome  itself  is  almost  as  gaudily  colored. 


SALAMANCA  27 

The  interior  is  built  of  a  clear  gray  stone  on  which 
sparing  employment  of  color  in  certain  places  is  most 
effective.  Thus  in  the  bosses  of  the  vaulting  ribs 
throughout,  in  the  capitals  of  the  piers  of  nave  and 
transept,  in  the  very  elaborate  fan-vaulting  of  the 
Capilla  Mayor,  and  in  the  soffits  of  nave-clerestory, 
the  blue  and  gold  contrasts  finely  with  the  cold  gray 
surfaces.  Renaissance  medallions  decorate  the  span- 
drels of  the  nave,  but  those  of  the  side  aisles  bear  the 
coats-of-arms  of  the  Cathedral  and  the  City  of  Sala- 
manca. A  differently  designed  fan-vaulting  spreads 
over  every  chapel.  Great  rejas  enclose  choir  and 
Capilla  Mayor  from  the  transept.  The  rear  of  the 
choir  is  badly  mutilated  by  a  Baroque  screen,  while 
the  sides  and  back  of  the  high  altar  still  consist  of  the 
rough  blocks  which  have  been  waiting  for  centuries 
to  be  carved.  The  choir-stalls  are  very  late  eighteenth 
century,  a  mass  of  over-elaborate  detail,  as  fine  as 
Grinling  Gibbon's  carving,  and  if  possible  even  more 
remarkable  in  the  detail. 

The  west  and  north  fagades  are,  for  a  Spanish 
cathedral,  singularly  free  and  unencumbered.  The 
west  faces  the  old  walls  of  the  university.  The  entire 
composition  is  overshadowed  by  the  tremendous 
tower  that  looms  up  for  miles  around  in  the  country. 
It  is  indeed  "  Salamanca  qui  erige  ses  clochers  rutilants 
sur  la  nudite  inexorable  du  desert."  Though  it  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  rest  of  the  composition,  it  is 
a  happy  mixture  of  the  two  styles;  the  massive  base 
is  as  high  as  the  roofing  of  the  nave,  blessedly  bare 
and  severe  beside  the  restlessness  of  the  adjoining 
screen.  A  clock  and  a  few  panels  areall  that  break  it. 
Classical  balconies  run  round  it  above  and  below  the 


28  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

first  bell-story,  the  sides  of  which  are  decorated  with 
a  Corinthian  order  and  broken  by  round  arched  open- 
ings. A  similar  order  decorates  the  drum  of  the  cupola, 
while  Gothic  crocketed  pyramids  break  the  transition 
at  angles.  At  the  peak  of  the  lantern,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  feet  in  the  air,  soars  the  triumphant  emblem 
of  the  Church  of  Christ.  That  man  of  architectural 
infamy,  Churriguera^  erected  it,  showing  in  this  in- 
stance an  extraordinary  restraint. 

The  f  agade  belongs  to  the  first  period  of  the  Cath- 
edral, and  portions  of  it  are  Juan  Gil  de  Hontanon's 
work,  though  the  later  points  to  Poniente.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  compare  it  with  the  last  Gothic  work  in 
France,  with,  for  instance,  Saint-Ouen  at  Rouen.  The 
end  of  the  style  in  the  two  countries  is  totally  differ- 
ent —  one  expiring  in  a  mass  of  glass  and  tracery,  the 
other,  in  a  meaningless  jumble  of  ornamentation,  of 
cusped  and  broken  and  elliptical  arches  and  carving 
incredible  in  its  delicacy.  One  can  scarcely  believe 
it  to  be  stone.  The  Spanish,  though  not  wild  in  its 
extravagance,  yet  lacks  all  sense  of  restraint.  The 
front  is  composed  of  a  screenwork  of  three  huge  arches, 
within  which  three  portals  leading  to  the  aisles  form 
the  main  composition,  the  whole  crowned  by  a  series 
of  crocketed  pinnacles.  A  plain  fortress-like  pier, 
resembling  the  remnant  of  an  old  bastion,  terminates 
it  to  the  north.  Great  buttresses  separate  the  port- 
als. Around  them  are  deep  reveals  and  archivolt ; 
somewhat  recalling  French  examples  in  their  forms ; 
above  them  is  an  inexhaustible  effort  in  stone. 
There  are  myriads  of  brackets  and  canopies,  some  few 
having  statues.  There  are  enough  coats-of-arms  to 
supply  whole  nations  with  heraldic  emblems,  and 


SALAMANCA  29 

recessed  moldings  of  remarkable  and  exquisite  work- 
manship and  crispness  of  foliage.  Some  of  the  bas- 
reliefs,  as  those  of  the  Nativity  and  Adoration,  are 
very  fine.  The  Virgin  in  the  pillar  separating  the 
doors  of  the  central  entrance  gathers  the  folds  of  her 
robe  about  her  with  a  queenly  grace  and  dignity. 

The  whole  doorway  on  its  great  scale  is  a  remark- 
able work  of  the  transition  from  Gothic  to  Renais- 
sance. While  the  treatment  of  the  figures  has  a  natur- 
alism already  entirely  Renaissance,  the  main  bulk 
of  the  ornamental  detail  is  still  in  its  feeling  quite 
Gothic. 

From  the  steps  of  the  Palazzo  del  Gobemo  Civil, 
the  northern  front  stretches  out  before  you  above  the 
bushy  tops  of  the  acacia  trees  in  the  Plaza  del  Colegio 
Viejo.  The  demarcations  are  strong  in  the  horizontal 
courses  of  the  balconies  which  crown  the  walls  of  the 
nave  and  side-aisle  chapels,  —  the  two  lower  quite 
Gothic.  The  thrust  of  the  naves  is  met  by  great  but- 
tresses flying  out  over  the  roofs  of  the  side  aisles,  and 
there,  as  well  as  above  the  buttresses  of  the  chapel 
walls,  pinnacles  rise  like  the  masts  in  a  great  shipyard. 
The  whole  organism  of  the  late  Spanish  Gothic  church 
lies  open  before  you.  The  long  stretch  of  the  three 
tiers  of  walls  is  broken  by  the  face  of  the  transept, 
the  door  of  which  is  blocked,  while  the  surrounding 
buttresses  and  walls  are  covered  with  canopies  and 
brackets,  all  vacant  of  statues.  In  place  of  the  con- 
demned door,  there  is  one  leading  into  the  second 
bay,  the  Puerta  de  los  Ramos  or  de  las  Palmas,  in 
feeling  very  similar  to  the  main  doors  of  the  west.  Its 
semicircular  arches  support  a  relief  representing 
Christ  entering  Jerusalem.    A  circular  light  flanked 


so  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

by  Peter  and  Paul  comes  above,  and  the  whole  is 
encased  in  a  series  of  broken  arches  filled  with  the 
most  intricate  carving. 

The  grand  and  the  grandiloquent  Cathedral  seem 
to  gaze  out  over  the  town  and  the  vast  plain  of  the 
old  kingdom  of  Leon  and  to  listen.  It  is  a  golden 
town,  of  a  dignity  one  gladly  links  with  the  name  of 
Castile.  It  is  a  city  —  or  what  is  left  of  it  after  the 
firebrands  of  Thiebaut,  of  Ney,  and  of  Marmont  — 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  of  convents  and  churches 
and  huge  ecclesiastical  establishments.  They  rise  like 
amber  mountains  above  the  squalid  buildings  crumb- 
ling between  them,  and  stand  in  grilled  and  latticed 
silence.  Las  Duenas  lies  mute  on  one  side  and  on 
the  other  San  Esteban,  where  the  great  discoverer 
pleaded  his  cause  to  deaf  ears.  In  the  evening  glow 
their  brown  walls  gain  a  depth  and  warmth  of  color 
like  the  flush  in  the  dark  cheeks  of  Spanish  girls. 


II 

BURGOS 


CATHEDRAL  OF   15URG0S 
West  front 


II 

BURGOS 

Whereat  he  wondred  much,  and  gan  enquere 
What  stately  building  durst  so  high  extend 
Her  lofty  towres  unto  the  starry  sphere. 

The  Faerie  Queene,  book  i,  c.  x,  Ivi. 


THE  best  view  of  the  spires  of  Burgos  is  from  the 
ruined  walls  of  the  Castillo  high  above  the  city. 
From  these  crumbling  ramparts,  pierced  and  gouged 
by  a  thousand  years  of  assault  and  finally  rent  asunder 
by  the  powder  of  the  Napoleonic  armies,  you  look 
directly  down  upon  the  mistress  of  the  city  and  the 
sad  and  ardent  plain.  A  stubbly  growth,  more  like 
cocoa  matting  than  grass,  covers  the  unroofed  floor 
beneath  your  feet.  From  this  Castle,  Ferdinand 
Gonzales  ruled  Castile,  and  here  the  Cid  led  Dona 
Zimena,  and  Edward  I  of  England  Eleanor  of  Cas- 
tile, to  the  altar.  The  only  colors  brightening  the 
melancholy  hillside  are  here  and  there  the  brilliant 
blood-stain  of  the  poppy,  the  gold  of  the  dandelion, 
and  the  episcopal  purple  of  the  thistle.  Below  and 
beyond,  stretches  a  sea  of  shaded  ochre,  broken  in  the 
foreground  by  the  corrugations  of  the  many  roofs 
turned  by  time  to  the  brownish  tint  of  the  encircling 
hillocks  and  made  to  blend  in  one  harmony  with  its 
monochrome  bosom.  Fillets  of  silver  pierce  the 
horizon,  glittering  as  they  wind  nearer  between  over- 


84  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

hanging  birches  and  poplars.  The  deep,  guttural, 
roar  of  the  great  Cathedral's  many  voices  rises  in 
majestic  and  undisputed  authority  from  the  valley 
below,  now  and  again  joined  by  the  weaker  trebles 
of  San  Esteban  and  San  Nicolas.  Regiments  of 
soldiers  march  with  regular  clattering  step  through 
holy  precincts  and  up  and  down  the  crooked  lanes  and 
squares;  barracks  and  parade-grounds  occupy  conse- 
crated soil,  —  still  Santa  Maria  la  Mayor  raises  her 
voice  to  command  obedience  and  proclaim  her  undi- 
vided dominion  over  the  plains  of  drowsy,  old  Castile. 

From  this  height,  one  does  not  notice  the  trans- 
formation of  the  Gothic  into  seventeenth-century 
edifices,  nor  the  changes  wrought  by  later  centuries. 
In  the  glare  of  the  dazzling  sun,  the  tremulous  atmo- 
sphere, and  the  lazy,  curling  smoke  of  the  many 
chimneys,  Burgos  still  seems  Burgos  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  the  royal  city,  mistress  of  the  castles  and 
sweeping  plains,  and  the  Cathedral  is  her  stronghold. 

She  is  very  old,  —  tradition  says,  founded  by 
Count  Diego  Rodriguez  of  Alava  with  the  assistance 
of  an  Alfonso  who  ruled  in  Christian  Oviedo  towards 
the  end  of  the  ninth  century.  For  many  years  his 
descendants,  as  well  as  the  lords  of  the  many  castles 
strewn  along  the  lonely  hills  north  of  the  Sierra  de 
Guadarrama,  owed  allegiance  to  Leon  and  the  king- 
dom of  the  Asturias.  Burgos  finally  threw  off  the 
yoke,  and  chose  judges  for  rulers,  until  one  of  them, 
Ferdinand  Gonzalez,  assumed  for  himself  and  his 
successors  the  proud  title  of  "Conde  of  Castile." 
Under  his  great-grandson,  Ferdinand  I,  Castile  and 
Leon  were  united  in  1037,  thus  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  the  later  monarchy.  Burgos  became  a  capital 


BURGOS  35 

City.  Against  the  dark  background  of  mediaeval  his- 
tory and  interwoven  with  many  romantic  legends, 
there  stands  out  that  greatest  of  Spanish  heroes,  the 
Cid  Campeador.  This  Rodrigo  Diaz  was  born  near 
Burgos.  The  lady  Zimena  whom  he  married  was 
daughter  of  a  Count  Diego  Rodriguez  of  Oviedo, 
probably  a  descendant  of  the  founder  of  the  city. 
In  the  presence  of  the  knights  and  nobles  of  Burgos, 
the  Cid  forced  Alfonso  VI  to  swear  that  he  had  no 
part  in  the  murder  of  King  Sancho,  and  in  the  royal 
city  he  was  then  elected  King  of  Castile  by  the  Com- 
mons (1071).  Alfonso  never  forgave  the  Cid  this 
humiliation,  and  later  exiled  him.  To  the  Burgalese 
of  to-day,  he  seems  as  living  and  real  as  he  was  to 
mediaeval  Castilians.  Spanish  histories  and  children 
will  tell  you  of  two  things  that  make  Burgos  immortal 
—  her  Cathedral,  and  her  motherhood  to  Rodrigo 
Diaz  de  Vivar.^ 

The  importance  of  the  city  as  a  Christian  centre 
becomes  evident  at  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century 
(1074),  when  it  receives  its  own  bishop,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  fully  equipped,  convokes  a  church  council 
to  protest  against  the  supplanting  by  the  Latin  of 
the  earlier  Mozarabic  rite,  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  The  same  Alfonso  transferred  his  capital 
to  the  newly  conquered  Toledo  and,  contemporane- 
ous with  the  great  prosperity  of  Burgos  during  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  there  was  endless 
jealousy  as  to  precedence,  first  between  Burgos  and 

^  According  to  Doctor  DoUinger,  "a  faithless  and  cruel  freebooter." 
As  a  daring  and  successful  "condottiere,"  he  was  dear  to  his  liberty- 
loving  contemporaries,  who  protested  against  any  encroachments  from 
Rome  or  curtailment  of  their  civil  rights  by  native  rulers. 


36  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Toledo  and  afterwards  between  these  and  Valladolid. 
Burgos  reaches  the  zenith  of  her  power  in  the  reign  of 
Saint  Ferdinand  and  the  first  half  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  though  as  late  as  1349,  Alfonso  XI,  in  the 
assembled  Cortes,  still  recognizes  Burgos*s  claim  as 
"first  city"  by  calling  on  her  to  give  her  voice  first, 
—  "prima  voce  et  fide,"  saying  he  would  then  speak 
for  Toledo.  Not  long  after,  Valladolid  overshadows 
them  both. 

The  greatness  of  Burgos  is  that  of  the  old  Castilian 
kingdom;  with  its  extinction  came  hers.  Her  flower- 
ing and  expansion  were  contemporaneous  with  the 
most  splendid  period  of  Gothic  art.  Her  day  was  a 
glorious  one,  before  bigotry  had  laid  its  withering  hand 
upon  the  arts,  and  while  the  rich  imagination  and 
skilled  hands  of  Moorish  and  Jewish  citizens  still 
ennobled  and  embellished  their  capital  city. 


n 


The  present  Cathedral  is  singularly  picturesque 
and  by  far  the  most  interesting  of  the  three  great 
Gothic  Cathedrals  of  Spain,  —  Leon,  Toledo,  and 
Burgos.  The  interest  is  mainly  due  to  her  vigorous 
organism,  an  outcome  of  more  essentially  Spanish 
predilections  (as  well  as  a  natural  interpretation  of 
the  French  importations)  than  we  find  in  either  of  the 
sister  churches.  Later  additions  and  ornamentation 
have  naturally  concealed  and  disfigured,  but  the  old 
body  is  still  there,  admirable,  fitting,  and  sane. 

Burgos  Cathedral  is  built  upon  a  hillside,  her  walls 
hewn  out  of  and  climbing  the  sides  of  the  mountain, 


KEY  OF  PLAN  OF  BURGOS  CATHEDRAL 


A.  Chapel  of  Santa  Thecla. 

B.  Chapel  of  Santa  Anna. 

C.  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Birth. 

D.  Chapel  of  the  Annunciation. 

E.  Chapel  of  Saint  Gregory. 

F.  Chapel  of  the  Constable. 

G.  Chapel  of  the  Parish  of  St.  James. 
H.  Chapel  of  Saint  John. 

I.  Chapel  of  Saint  Catherine. 
K.  Chapel  of  Jean  Cuchiller. 
L.   Chapter  House. 
M.  Sacristy. 


N.   Minor  Sacristy. 

O.   Chapel  of  Saint  Henry. 

P.   Altar. 

Q.   Choir. 

R.  Chapel  of  the  Presentation  of  the 

Virgin. 
S.    Choir. 

T.    Golden  Staircase. 
U.  Door  of  the  Pellegeria. 
X.  Door  of  the  Sarmental. 
Y.   Door  of  the  Perdon. 
Z.   Door  of  the  Apostles. 


BURGOS  37 

making  it  necessary  either  from  north  or  south  to 
approach  her  through  long  flights  of  stairs.  What  she 
loses  in  freedom  and  access,  she  certainly  gains  in 
picturesqueness.  She  is  flesh  of  the  flesh  and  blood 
of  the  blood  of  the  city,  scaling  its  heights  like  a  great 
mother  and  drawing  after  her  the  surrounding 
houses  which  nestle  to  her  sides.  She  would  not  gain 
in  majesty  by  standing  free  in  an  open  square,  nor  by 
receiving  the  sunlight  on  all  sides.  And  so,  though 
many  later  additions  hide  much  of  the  early  fabric, 
they  combine  with  it  to  form  a  picturesque  whole, 
a  wonderful  jewelled  casket,  a  sparkling  diadem  set 
high  on  the  royal  brow  of  the  city,  such  as  possibly 
no  other  city  of  its  size  in  Christendom  can  boast. 

It  was  King  Alfonso  VI  who  at  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  century  gave  his  palace-ground  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  Cathedral  for  the  new  Episcopal  See.  We 
know  nothing  of  its  design,  nor  whether  it  occupied 
exactly  the  same  site  as  the  later  building.  The  early 
one  must,  however,  have  been  a  Romanesque 
Church;  —  what  might  not  a  later  Romanesque 
Cathedral  have  been! — for  the  style  had  arrived  at 
a  point  of  vitally  interesting  promise  and  national 
development,  when  it  was  forced  to  recoil  before  the 
foreign  invaders,  the  Benedictines  and  Cistercians. 

Two  great  names  are  linked  to  the  founding  of  the 
present  Cathedral  of  Burgos,  Saint  Ferdinand  and 
Bishop  Maurice.  The  latter  was  bishop  from  1213 
to  1238,  and  probably  an  Englishman  who  came  to 
Burgos  in  the  train  of  the  English  Queen,  Eleanor 
Plantagenet.^  He  was  sent  to  Speyer  as  ambassador 
from  the  Spanish  Court  to  bring  back  the  Princess 

*  Married  to  Alfonso  lU  of  Castile. 


88  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Beatrice  as  bride  for  Saint  Ferdinand.  Maurice's 
mission  took  him  through  those  parts  of  Germany  and 
France  where  the  enthusiasm  for  cathedral -building 
was  at  its  height,  and  he  had  time  to  admire  and 
study  a  forest  of  exquisite  spires,  newly  reared,  par- 
ticularly while  the  young  lady  given  him  in  charge 
was  sumptuously  entertained  by  King  Philip  Augus- 
tus. Naturally  he  returned  to  his  native  city  burning 
with  ardor  to  begin  a  similar  work  there,  and  prob- 
ably brought  with  him  master-builders  and  skilful 
artists  of  long  training  in  Gothic  church-building. 

Queen  Berengaria  and  King  Ferdinand  met  the 
Suabian  Princess  at  the  frontier  of  Castile.  The  first 
ceremony  was  the  conference  of  the  Order  of  Knight- 
hood, in  the  presence  of  all  the  "ricos  hombres" 
(ruling  men),  the  cavaliers  of  the  kingdom  with  their 
wives  and  the  burgesses.  The  sword  was  taken  from 
the  altar  and  girded  on  by  the  right  noble  lady 
Berengaria.  We  read  that  the  other  arms  had  been 
blessed  by  Bishop  Maurice  and  were  donned  by  the 
King  with  his  own  hands,  no  one  else  being  high 
enough  for  the  office.  Three  days  later  Ferdinand 
was  married  to  "dulcissimam  Domicellam"  in  the 
old  Cathedral  by  the  Bishop  of  Burgos  without 
protest  from  the  Primate  of  Castile,  Archbishop 
Rodrigo  of  Toledo.  This  took  place  in  1219,  and  two 
years  after  King  and  Bishop  laid  the  corner-stone  of 
the  new  edifice. 

The  work  must  have  been  spurred  on  by  all  the 
religious  ardor  which  fired  the  first  half  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  for  only  nine  years  later  services 
were  held  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  building.  The 
good  Bishop  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  old  choir,  where 


Photo  by  J.  LacoBte,  Madrid 


CATHKDRAL  OF  BURGOS 
View  of  tbe  nave 


BURGOS  89 

he  still  lies  undisturbed,  though  to-day  it  is  the 
Capilla  Mayor.  By  the  middle  of  the  century,  the 
great  bulk  of  the  old  structure  must  have  been  well 
advanced.  The  lower  portions  of  the  towers  and 
the  eastern  termination  are  fourteenth-century  work; 
the  spires  themselves,  fifteenth.  A  multitude  of 
changes  and  additions,  new  chapels  and  buildings, 
gradually,  as  years  went  on,  transformed  the  primi- 
tive plan  from  its  first  harmony  and  beauty  to  a  con- 
fused mass  of  aisles,  vaults,  and  chapels.  When  we 
compare  the  present  fabric  with  the  early  plan,  we  see 
with  what  masterly  skill  and  simplicity  the  original 
one  was  conceived. 

All  that  is  left  or  can  be  seen  of  this  first  structure 
is  splendid.  Though  built  in  the  second  period  of  the 
great  northern  style,  it  has  none  of  the  lightness  of 
the  French  churches  which  were  going  up  simul- 
taneously, nor  even  that  of  Spanish  Leon  or  Toledo. 
It  has  heavy  supporting  walls  and  is  of  the  family 
of  the  early  French  with  a  magnificently  powerful 
and  efficient  system  of  piers  and  buttresses.  It  is  not 
free  from  a  certain  Romanesque  feeling  in  its  general 
lines,  its  windows,  and  in  many  of  its  details.  Though 
a  splendid  type  of  Gothic  construction,  this  first 
church  is  a  convincing  proof  that  the  nervous,  subtle, 
fully  developed  system  was  foreign  to  Spanish  taste. 
The  complicated  solutions,  the  intricate  planning, 
were  not  in  accordance  with  their  temper  nor  pre- 
dilections. Rheims  may  be  said  to  express  the  radical 
temper  of  its  French  builders,  Burgos,  the  conserva- 
tive Spanish.  In  Spain,  construction  and  artistic  prin- 
ciples did  not  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  glorious  manner 
they  were  wont  to  in  France.   Burgos  seems  much 


40  THE   CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

more  emotional  than  sensitive.  Riotous  excess  and 
empty  display  take  the  place  of  restrained  and  appro- 
priate decoration.  The  organic  dependence  which 
should  exist  between  sculpture  and  architecture,  so 
invariably  present  in  the  early  French  church,  is 
lacking  in  Burgos.  A  careful  analysis  is  interesting. 
It  reveals  the  fusion  of  foreign  elements,  the  severe 
monastic  of  the  Cistercians  and  the  later  sumptuous 
secular  style,  the  florid  intricacy  of  the  German,  the 
glory  of  the  Romanesque,  the  dryness  of  its  revival 
and  the  bombast  of  the  Plateresque,  all  more  or  less 
transformed  by  what  Spaniards  could  and  would  do. 
In  its  construction  and  buttresses,  it  recalls  Sens  and 
Saint-Denis;  in  its  nave,  Chartres;  in  its  vaulting, 
the  Angevine  School.  The  symmetry  of  the  early 
plan  is  fascinating,  and  Senor  Lamperez  y  Romea's 
sincere  and  beautiful  reconstruction  must  be  a  faith- 
ful reproduction.  It  makes  the  side  aisles  quite 
free,  the  broad  transepts  to  consist  of  two  bays, 
while  the  crossing  is  carried  by  piers  heavy  enough 
to  support  an  ordinary  vault  but  not  a  majestic  lan- 
tern. Five  perfectly  formed  radial  chapels  surround 
the  polygonal  ambulatory  and  are  continued  to- 
wards the  crossing  by  three  rectangular  chapels  on 
each  side.  The  vaulting  of  nave  and  transepts  is 
throughout  sexpartite;  that  of  the  side  aisles,  quad- 
ripartite. Most  of  this  has,  as  will  be  seen,  been 
profoundly  modified. 

The  old  structure  is  the  kernel  of  the  present 
church.  It  consists  of  a  central  nave  of  six  bays  up 
to  a  strongly  marked  crossing  and  three  beyond, 
terminating  in  a  pentagonal  apse.  The  side  aisles 
are  decidedly  lower  and  continue  across  the  transept 


BURGOS  41 

round  the  apse.  These  again  are  flanked  on  the  west 
by  the  chapel  churches  of  Santa  Tecla,  Santa  Anna, 
and  the  Presentacion,  as  well  as  by  a  number  of  other 
smaller,  vaulted  compartments.  Only  two  of  the 
radial  chapels  outside  the  polygonal  ambulatory  re- 
main, the  others  having  been  altered  or  supplanted 
by  the  great  Chapels  of  the  Constable,  of  Santiago, 
Santa  Catarina,  Corpus  Christi,  and  the  Cloisters. 
The  western  front  is  entered  by  a  triple  doorway 
corresponding  to  nave  and  side  aisles  ;  the  southern 
transept,  by  an  incline  40  feet  wide,  broken  by  28 
steps.  On  reaching  the  door  of  the  northern  transept, 
one  finds  the  ground  risen  outside  the  church  some 
26  feet  above  the  level  of  the  inner  pavement,  and 
instead  of  descending  by  the  interior  staircase,  one 
wanders  far  to  the  northeast,  there  to  descend  to 
a  portal  in  the  north  of  the  eastern  transept.  The 
whole  church  is  about  300  feet  long,  and  in  general 
83  feet  wide,  the  transepts,  194  feet. 

The  piers  under  the  crossing,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  first  bay  inside  the  western  entrance,  are  much 
larger  than  the  others,  in  order  to  support  the  addi- 
tional weight  of  crossing  and  towers,  and  the  piers, 
abutting  aisle  and  transept  walls,  are  also  unusually 
strong.  The  interior  pillars  are  of  massive  cylindrical 
plan,  of  well-developed  French  Gothic  type,  solid, 
but  kept  from  any  appearance  of  heaviness  by  their 
form  and  by  eight  engaged  columns.  The  ornamented 
bases  are  high  and  of  characteristic  Gothic  moldings. 
The  finely  carved  capitals  carry  square  abaci  in  the 
side  aisles  and  circular  ones  in  the  nave.  Both  abaci 
and  bases  have  been  placed  at  right  angles  to  the 
arches  they  support.  The  three  engaged  pier  columns 


42  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

facing  the  nave  carry  the  transverse  and  diagonal 
groining  ribs,  while  the  wall  ribs  are  met  by  shafts 
on  each  side  of  the  clerestory  windows. 

The  four  main  supports  at  the  angles  of  the  crossing 
are  rather  towers  than  piers.  In  the  original  struc- 
ture, they  were  probably  counterparts  of  those  sup- 
porting the  inner  angles  of  the  tower  between  nave 
and  side  aisles,  with  a  fully  developed  system  of 
shafts  for  the  support  of  the  various  groining  ribs. 
With  the  collapse  of  the  old  crossing  and  the  conse- 
quent erection  of  an  even  bulkier  and  far  more  weighty 
superstructure,  tremendous  circular  supports  upon 
octagonal  bases  were  substituted.  They  are  thor- 
oughly Plateresque  in  feeling,  50  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence and  delicately  fluted  and  ribbed  as  they  descend, 
with  Renaissance  ornaments  on  the  pedestals  and 
similar  statues  under  Gothic  canopies,  evidently 
inserted  in  their  faces  as  a  compromise  to  the  sur- 
rounding earlier  style. 

Glancing  up  at  the  superstructure  and  vaulting, 
there  is  a  great  consciousness  of  light  and  joy, — 
a  feeling  that  it  would  have  been  well-nigh  perfect, 
if  the  choir  and  its  rejas  could  only  have  remained 
in  their  old  proper  place  east  of  the  crossing,  instead 
of  sadly  congesting  a  nave  magnificent  in  length 
and  size.  The  brightness  is  due,  partly  to  the  stone 
itself,  almost  white  when  first  quarried  from  Ontoria, 
and  partly  to  the  uncolored  glass  in  the  greater 
portion  of  the  clerestory.  Here  and  there  the  ma- 
sonry has  the  mellow  tones  of  meerschaum,  shaded 
with  pinkish  and  lava-gray  tints,  but  the  effect  is 
rather  that  of  ancient  marble  than  of  limestone.  The 
interior,  compared  to  Toledo,  is  a  bride  beside  a  nun. 


BURGOS  48 

Granting  the  loss  of  original  simplicity  and  a  rather 
distressing  mixture  of  two  styles,  the  combination 
has  been  handled  with  a  skill  and  genius  peculiarly 
Spanish  and  therefore  picturesque.  The  austerity 
of  the  French  prototype  has  been  replaced  by  joy- 
ousness  and  regal  splendor.  If  we  examine  carefully 
the  older  portions  of  the  interior  structure  and  carv- 
ing as  well  as  the  traces  of  parts  that  have  disap- 
peared, we  feel  how  very  French  it  is,  and  undoubt- 
edly erected  without  assistance  from  Moorish  hands. 
The  vaulting  is  like  some  of  the  French,  very 
rounded,  especially  in  the  side  aisles.  It  is  all  plain 
excepting  under  the  dome  and  the  vaults  immedi- 
ately abutting,  where  additional  ribs  were  evidently 
added  at  a  later  time.  The  vaulting  ribs  of  the  main 
arches  start  unusually  low  down,  almost  on  a  level 
with  the  top  of  the  triforium  windows,  giving  the 
church  relatively  a  much  lower  effect  than  Leon  or 
the  French  Rheims  or  Amiens. 

Both  triforium  and  clerestory  are  very  fine,  espe- 
cially in  the  nave,  where,  although  they  have  under- 
gone alterations,  these  are  less  radical  than  in  the 
Capilla  Mayor.  The  triforium,  which  is  early  thir- 
teenth-century work,  is  strikingly  singular.  Its  nar- 
row gallery  is  covered  by  a  continuous  barrel  vault 
parallel  to  the  nave.  Six  slender  columns  divide  its 
seven  arches,  while  above  them  are  trefoil  and  quatre- 
foil  penetrations  contained  within  a  segmental  arch, 
broken  by  carved  heads.  The  fine  old  shafts,  sepa- 
rating the  trefoiled  or  quatrefoiled  arcade,  are  hidden 
by  crocketed  pinnacles  and  a  traceried  balcony. 
The  triforium  east  of  the  crossing  has  only  four 
arches,  with  much  later  traceried  work  above.   The 


44  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

charming  old  simplicity  is  of  course  lost  wherever 
gaudy  carving  has  been  added,  but  the  oldest  por- 
tions belong  decidedly  to  the  early  Gothic  work  of 
northern  France.  Above  rises  the  clerestory  in  its 
early  vigor,  with  comparatively  small  windows,  con- 
sisting of  two  arches  and  a  rose. 

Probably  the  crossing  had  originally  a  vault  some- 
what more  elaborate  than  the  others,  or,  possibly, 
even  a  small  lantern.  To  emphasize  the  crossing, 
both  internally  and  externally,  was  always  a  peculiar 
delight  to  Spanish  builders.  This  characteristic  was 
admirably  adapted  to  Romanesque  churches  and  in 
the  Gothic  was  still  felt  to  be  essential,  but  Burgos 
shared  the  fate  of  Seville  and  the  new  Cathedral  of 
Salamanca.  The  old  writer,  Cean  Bermudez,  relates 
that  "the  same  disaster  befell  the  crossing  of  Burgos 
that  had  happened  to  Seville,  —  it  collapsed  entirely 
in  the  middle  of  the  night  on  the  3d  of  March,  1539. 
At  that  time  the  Bishop  was  the  Cardinal  D.  Fray 
Juan  Alvarez  de  Toledo,  famous  for  the  many  edifices 
which  he  erected  and  among  them  S.  Esteban  of 
Salamanca.  Owing  to  the  zeal  of  the  Prelate  and  the 
Chapter  and  the  piety  of  the  generous  Burgalese, 
the  rebuilding  began  the  same  year.  They  called 
upon  Maestro  Felipe,  who  was  assisted  in  the  plan- 
ning and  construction  by  Juan  de  Vallejo  and  Juan 
de  Castanela,  architects  of  the  Cathedral.  Felipe 
died  at  Toledo,  after  completing  the  bas-reliefs  of 
the  choir  stalls.  The  Chapter  honored  his  memory  in 
a  worthy  manner,  for  they  placed  in  the  same  choir 
under  the  altar  of  the  Descent  from  the  Cross  this 
epitaph:  *Philippus  Burgundio  statuarius,  qui  ut 
manu  sanctorum  eflSgies,  ita  mores  animo  exprimebat : 


BURGOS  45 

subsellis  chori  struendis  itentus,  opere  pene  absolute, 
immoritur.*"* 

In  place  of  the  old  dome  rose  one  of  the  most  mar- 
velous and  richest  structures  in  Spain,  a  crowning 
glory  to  the  heavenly  shrine.  It  is  at  once  a  moun- 
tain of  patience  and  a  burst  of  Spanish  pomp  and 
pride.  It  is  the  labor  of  giants,  daringly  executed 
and  lavishly  decorated.  "The  work  of  angels,"  said 
Philip  II.  Nothing  less  could  have  called  forth  such 
an  exclamation  from  those  acrimonious  lips  and 
jaded  eyes.  The  men  who  designed  and  erected  it 
were  the  best  known  in  Spain.  There  was  Philip,  the 
Burgundian  sculptor  with  exquisite  and  indefatig- 
able chisel,  who  had  come  to  Spain  in  the  train  of  the 
Emperor.  Vallejo,  one  of  the  famous  council  that 
sat  at  Salamanca,  had  with  Castanela  erected  the 
triumphal  arch  which  appeased  Charles's  wrath 
kindled  against  the  citizens  of  Burgos,  and  is  even 
to-day,  after  the  Cathedral,  the  city's  most  familiar 
landmark.  In  the  year  1567,  twenty-eight  years 
after  the  falling  of  the  first  lantern,  the  new  one 
towered  completed  in  its  place.  It  was  a  magnificent 
attempt  at  a  blending,  or  rather  a  reconciliation,  of 
the  Renaissance  and  the  Gothic.  There  is  the  char- 
acter of  one  and  the  form  of  the  other.  Gothic  trefoil 
arches  and  traceries  are  carried  by  classical  columns. 
Renaissance  balustrades  and  panels  intermingle  with 
crockets  and  bosses,  and  Florentine  panels  and  statues 
with  Gothic  canopies.  They  are  so  interwoven  that 
the  careful  student  of  architecture  feels  himself  in  a 
nightmare  of  styles  and  different  centuries.  It  was 
of  course  an  undertaking  doomed  to  failure. 

'  Cean  Bermudez,  Noticias  de  loa  Arquitectos  y  ArquUedura  de 
Eapaha,  vol.  i,  p.  S08. 


46  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

The  outline  is  octagonal.  Above  the  pendentives, 
forming  the  transition  of  the  octagon,  comes  a  double 
frieze  of  armorial  bearings  (those  of  Burgos  and 
Charles  V)  and  inscriptions,  and  a  double  clerestory, 
separated  and  supported  by  classical  balustraded 
passages;  the  window  splays  and  heads  are  a  com- 
plete mass  of  carving  and  decorations.  The  vaulting 
itself  contains  within  its  bold  ribs  and  segments  an 
infinite  variety  of  stars,  as  if  one  should  see  the  panes 
of  heaven  covered  with  frosty  patterns  of  a  clear 
winter  morning. 

Theophile  Gautier's  description  of  it  is  interesting 
as  an  expression  of  the  effect  it  produced  on  a  man 
of  artistic  emotions  rather  than  trained  architectural 
feeling:  "En  levant  la  t^te,"  he  says,  "on  apergoit 
une  espece  de  dome  forme  par  I'interieur  de  la  tour, 
—  c'est  un  groupe  de  sculpture,  d 'arabesques,  de 
statues,  de  colonettes,  de  nervures,  de  lancettes,  de 
pendentifs,  a  vous  donner  le  vertige.  On  regarderait 
deux  ans  qu'on  n'aurait  pas  tout  vu.  C'est  touffu 
comme  un  chou,  fenestre  comme  une  truelle  a  pois- 
son;  c'est  gigantesque  comme  une  pyramide  et  delicat 
comme  une  boucle  d'oreille  de  femme,  et  Ton  ne  pent 
comprendre  qu'un  semblable  filigrane  puisse  se  sou- 
tenir  en  I'air  depuis  des  siecles." 

The  work  immediately  around  and  underneath 
this  gigantic  effort  is  really  the  earliest  part  of  the 
church,  for,  as  was  usual,  the  portion  indispensable 
for  services  was  begun  first.  The  transepts,  the  abut- 
ting vaults,  the  southern  and  possibly  the  northern 
entrance  fronts,  undoubtedly  all  belong  to  the  work 
carried  so  rapidly  forward  by  Bishop  Maurice's  con- 
tagious enthusiasm.  The  work  of  the  transepts  is  very 


I'hoto  by  J.  Lacutte,  .Mailriil 


CATHEDRAL  OF  BURGOS 
Lantern  over  crossing 


BURGOS  47 

similar  to  that  in  the  nave,  but,  in  the  former,  one 
obtains  really  a  much  finer  view  of  the  receding  bays 
north  and  south  than  in  the  nave  with  its  choir 
obstruction.  The  huge  rose  of  the  south  transept, 
placed  directly  under  the  arch  of  the  vaulting,  is  a 
splendid  specimen  of  a  Gothic  wheel.  Its  tracery 
is  composed  of  a  series  of  colonettes  radiating  from 
centre  to  circumference,  every  two  of  which  form,  as 
it  were,  a  separate  window  tracery  of  central  muUion, 
two  arches  and  upper  rose.  The  other  windows  of  the 
transepts  are,  barring  their  later  alterations,  typi- 
cally thirteenth  century  Gothic,  high  and  narrow 
with  colonnettes  in  their  jambs.  While  the  glazing  of 
the  great  southern  rose  is  a  perfect  burst  of  glory, 
that  of  the  northern  transept  arm  is  later  and  very 
mediocre. 

There  is  a  little  chapel  opening  to  the  east  out  of 
the  northern  transept  arm  which  is  full  of  interest 
from  the  fact  that  it  belongs  to  the  original,  early 
thirteenth -century  structure.  Probably  there  was  a 
corresponding  one  in  the  southern  arm,  with  groin- 
ing equally  remarkable.  The  northern  transept  arm 
is  filled  by  the  great  Renaissance  "golden  staircase*' 
leading  to  the  Puerta  de  la  Coroneria,  now  always 
closed.  It  must  have  been  a  magnificent  spectacle  to 
see  the  purple  and  scarlet  robes  of  priest  and  prelate 
sweep  down  the  divided  arms  of  the  stair  uniting  in 
the  broad  flight  at  the  bottom.  Such  an  occasion  was 
the  marriage  in  1268  of  the  Infante  Ferdinand,  son 
of  Alfonso  the  Wise,  to  Blanche  of  France,  a  niece  of 
Saint  Louis.  The  learned  monarch  ever  had  a  lav- 
ish hand,  and  he  spared  no  expense  to  dazzle  his 
distinguished  guests,  among  whom  were  the  King  of 


48  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Aragon  and  Philip,  heir  to  the  French  throne.  Fer- 
dinand was  first  armed  chevalier  by  his  father,  and  the 
marriage  was  then  celebrated  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Burgos  with  greater  pomp  and  magnificence  than 
had  ever  before  been  seen  in  Spain. 

The  gilt  metal  railing  is  as  exquisite  in  workman- 
ship as  in  design,  carried  out  by  Diego  de  Silhoe, 
who  was  the  architect  of  the  Cathedral  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  century.  There  is  also  a  lovely 
door  in  the  eastern  wall  of  the  southern  transept, 
now  leading  to  the  great  cloisters.  The  portal  itself 
is  early  work  of  the  fourteenth  century,  with  the 
Baptism  of  Christ  in  the  tympanum,  the  Annuncia- 
tion and  David  and  Isaiah  in  the  panels,  all  of  early 
energy  and  vitality,  as  full  of  feeling  as  simplicity. 
And  the  extraordinary  detail  of  the  wooden  doors 
themselves,  executed  a  century  and  a  half  later  by 
order  of  the  quizzical-looking  old  Bishop  of  Acuna, 
now  peacefully  sleeping  in  the  chapel  of  Santa  Anna, 
is  as  beautiful  an  example  of  wood -carving  as  we  have 
left  us  from  this  period.  If  Ghiberti's  door  was  the 
front  gate  of  paradise,  this  was  certainly  worthy  to  be 
a  back  gate,  and  well  worth  entering,  should  the  front 
be  found  closed. 

The  choir  occupies  at  present  as  much  as  one  half 
the  length  of  nave  from  crossing  to  western  front,  or 
the  length  of  three  bays.  With  its  massive  Corin- 
thian colonnade,  masonry  enclosure  and  rejas  rising 
to  the  height  of  the  triforium,  it  is  a  veritable  church 
within  a  church.  The  stalls,  mostly  Philip  of  Bur- 
gundy's work  from  about  the  year  1500,  surround  the 
old  tomb  of  the  Cathedral's  noble  founder.  As  usual, 
the  carvings  are  elaborate  scenes  from  Bible  history 


BURGOS  49 

and  saintly  lore,  —  over  the  upper  stalls,  principally 
from  the  old  Testament,  and  above  the  lower,  from  the 
New. 

A  very  remarkable  family  of  German  architects 
have  left  their  indelible  stamp  upon  Burgos  Cathe- 
dral. In  1435  a  prominent  Hebrew  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi  died  as  Bishop  of  the  See,  and  was  succeeded  by 
his  son,  Alfonso  de  Cartagena.  Alfonso  not  only 
followed  in  his  father's  footsteps,  but  became  one  of 
the  most  renowned  churchmen  in  Spain  during  the 
early  years  of  Ferdinand  of  Aragon.  And  he  looks  it 
too,  as  he  lies  to-day  near  the  entrance  to  his  old 
palace,  in  fine  Flemish  lace,  mitre  covered  with  pearls, 
and  sparkling,  jewelled  crozier.  As  Chancellor  of 
Spain,  Alfonso  was  sent  to  the  Council  of  Basle,  and 
thereafter,  like  his  predecessor  Maurice,  he  returned 
to  Burgos,  bringing  with  him  visions  of  church- 
building  such  as  he  had  never  dreamed  of  before 
and  the  architect  Juan  de  Colonia. 

The  Plateresque  style  was  rapidly  developing 
towards  the  effulgence  so  in  harmony  with  Spanish 
taste.  Interwoven  and  fused  with  the  work  Juan  was 
familiar  with  from  his  native  country,  he  and  his  sons, 
Simon  and  Diego,  encouraged  and  royally  assisted 
by  Alfonso  and  his  successor,  D.  Luis  of  Acuna,  set 
about  to  erect  some  of  the  most  striking  and  won- 
derful portions  of  Burgos  Cathedral,  —  the  towers  of 
the  fagade,  the  first  lantern  and  the  Chapel  of  the 
Constable. 

The  Chapel  of  Don  Pedro  Fernandez  de  Velasco, 
Count  of  Haro  and  Constable  of  Castile,  was  not  erected 
with  pious  intent,  but  to  the  immortal  fame  of  the 
Constable  and  his  wife.    In  the  centre  of  the  chapel- 


50  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

church  on  a  low  base  lie  the  Count  and  Countess. 
The  white  Carrara  of  the  figures  is  strangely  vivid 
against  the  dark  marble  on  which  they  rest,  and  all  is 
colored  by  the  sunlight  striking  down  through  the 
stained  glass.  It  is  very  regal.  The  Constable  is  clad 
in  full  Florentine  armor,  his  hands  clasping  his  sword 
and  his  mantle  about  his  shoulders.  The  carving  of 
the  flesh  and  the  veining,  and  especially  the  strong 
knuckles  of  the  hands,  are  astonishing.  The  fat 
cushions  of  the  forefinger  and  thumb  seem  to  swell 
and  the  muscles  to  contract  in  their  grip  on  the  cross 
of  the  hilt.  The  robe  of  his  spouse.  Dona  Mencia  de 
Mendoza,  is  richly  studded  with  pearls,  her  hand 
clasps  a  rosary,  while,  on  the  folds  of  her  skirt,  her 
little  dog  lies  peacefully  curled  up. 

The  plan  of  the  chapel  is  an  irregular  hexagon. 
It  should  have  been  octagonal,  but  the  western  sides 
have  not  been  carried  through  and  end  in  a  broad- 
armed  vestibule,  which  by  rights  should  be  the  radial 
chapel  upon  the  extreme  eastern  axis  of  the  whole 
church.  Above  the  vaulting  early  German  penden- 
tives  are  inserted  in  the  three  faulty  and  five  true 
angles  in  order  to  bring  the  plan  into  the  octagonal 
vaulting  form.  The  builder  seems  almost  to  have 
made  himself  difficulties  that  he  might  solve  them  by 
a  tour-de-force.  A  huge  star-fish  closes  the  vault. 
The  recumbent  statues  face  an  altar.  The  remaining 
sides  are  subdivided  by  typically  Plateresque  band- 
courses  and  immense  coats-of-arms  of  the  Haro  and 
Mendoza  families.  The  upper  surfacing  is  broken 
by  a  clerestory  with  exquisite,  old  stained  glass.  It  is 
melancholy  to  see  tombs  of  such  splendid  execution 
crushed  by  meaningless,  empty  display,  out  of  all 


BURGOS  51 

scale,  vulgar,  gesticulating,  and  theatrical,  especially 
so  when  one  notices  with  what  extraordinary  mechan- 
ical skill  much  of  the  detail  has  been  carved.  It 
thrusts  itself  on  your  notice  even  up  to  the  vaulting 
ribs,  which  the  architect,  not  satisfied  to  have  meet, 
actually  crossed  before  they  descend  upon  the  capi- 
tals below. 

The  reja  closing  the  chapel  o&  from  the  apse  is 
among  the  finest  of  the  Renaissance,  the  masterpiece 
of  Cristobal  Andino,  wrought  in  the  year  1523. 
Curiously  enough,  the  supporters  of  the  shield  above 
might  have  been  modeled  by  Burne-Jones  instead  of 
the  mediaeval  smith. 

The  interior  could  not  always  have  been  as  light 
and  cheerful  as  at  present,  for  probably  all  the  win- 
dows were  more  or  less  filled  with  stained  glass  from 
the  workshops  of  the  many  "vidrieros"  for  which 
Burgos  was  so  renowned  that  even  other  cathedral 
cities  awarded  her  the  contracts  for  their  glazing. 
The  foreign  masters  of  Burgos  were  accustomed  to  see 
their  arches  and  sculpture  mellowed  and  illumined 
by  rainbow  lights  from  above,  and  surely  here  too  it 
was  of  primary  importance. 

After  the  horrible  powder  explosion  of  1813,  when 
the  French  soldiers  blew  up  the  old  fortress,  making 
the  whole  city  tremble  and  totter,  the  agonized  serv- 
ants of  the  church  found  the  marble  pavements 
strewn  with  the  glorious  sixteenth-century  crystals 
that  had  been  shattered  above.  They  were  reli- 
giously collected  and,  where  possible,  reinserted  in 
new  fields. 

Chapels  stud  the  ground  around  the  old  edifice. 
The  Cloisters,  a  couple  of  chapels  north  of  the  chevet 


5«  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

and  small  portions  here  and  there,  rose  with  the  tran- 
septs and  the  original  thirteenth-century  structure, 
but  all  the  others  were  erected  by  the  piety  or  pride 
of  later  ages  or  have  been  transformed  by  succeeding 
generations.  Their  vaulting  illustrates  every  period 
of  French  and  German  Gothic  as  well  as  Plateresque 
art,  while  their  names  are  taken  from  a  favorite 
saint  or  biblical  episode  or  the  illustrious  founders. 
The  fifteenth  century  was  especially  sedulous,  build- 
ing chapels  as  a  rich  covering  for  the  splendid 
Renaissance  tombs  of  its  spiritual  and  temporal 
lords.  They  are  carved  with  the  admirable  skill  and 
genius  emanating  once  more  from  Italy.  The  Cas- 
tilian  Constable  and  his  spouse,  Bishop  Alfonso  de 
Cartagena  (in  the  Capilla  de  la  Visitacion),  Bishop 
Antonia  de  Velasco,  the  eminent  historian-arch- 
bishop (in  the  Sacristia  Nueva),  are  splendid  marbles 
of  the  classic  revival.  They  must  all  have  been  por- 
traits :  for  instance  Bishop  Gonzalvo  de  Lerma,  who 
sleeps  peacefully  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Presentacion; 
his  fat,  pursed  lips  and  baggy  eyelids  are  firmly  closed, 
and  his  soft,  double  chin  reposes  in  two  neat  folds 
upon  the  jeweled  surplice.  So,  too,  Fernando  de 
Villegas,  who  lies  in  the  north  transept  and  whose 
scholarly  face  still  seems  to  shine  with  the  inner  light 
which  prompted  him  to  give  his  people  the  great 
Florentine's  Divine  Comedy. 

The  poetry  and  romance  that  cling  to  these  illustri- 
ous dead  are  equally  present  as  you  pass  through  the 
lovely  Gothic  portal  into  the  cloisters  which  fill  the 
southeastern  angle  of  the  church  and  stand  by  the 
figures  of  the  great  Burgalese  that  lie  back  of  the  old 
Gothic  railings  in  many  niches  of  the  arcades.     To 


BURGOS  J   53 

judge  from  the  inscriptions  they  would,  if  they  could 
speak,  be  able  to  tell  us  of  every  phase  in  their 
city's  religious  and  political  struggles,  from  the  age 
of  Henry  II  down  to  the  decay  of  Burgos.  Saints, 
bishops,  princes,  warriors,  and  architects  lie  beneath 
the  beautiful,  double-storied  arcade.  Here  lies  Pedro 
Sanchez,  the  architect,  Don  Gonzalo  of  Burgos,  and 
Diego  de  Santander,  and  here  stand  the  eflSgies  of 
Saint  Ferdinand  and  Beatrice  of  Suabia.  The  very 
first  church  had  a  cloister  to  the  west  of  the  transept, 
now  altered  into  chapels.  For  some  reason,  early  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  the  present  cloister  was  built 
east  of  the  south  transept  and  with  as  lovely  Gothic 
arches  as  are  to  be  found  in  Spain.  We  read  of  great 
church  and  state  processions,  marching  under  its 
vaults  in  1324,  so  then  it  must  have  been  practically 
completed.  Later  on  the  second  story  was  added, 
much  richer  and  more  ornate  than  the  lower.  The 
oldest  masonry,  with  its  delicate  tracery  of  four 
arches  and  three  trefoiled  roses  to  each  arcade,  seems 
to  have  been  virtually  eaten  away  by  time.  New 
leaves  and  moldings  are  being  set  to-day  to  replace 
the  old.  The  pure  white,  native  stone,  so  easy  to  carve 
into  spirited  crockets  and  vigorous  strings  similar 
to  the  old,  stands  out  beside  the  sooty,  time-worn 
blocks,  as  the  fresh  sweetness  of  a  child's  cheek  laid 
against  the  weather-beaten  furrows  of  the  grand-par- 
ent. A  careful  scrutiny  of  all  the  details  shows  in  what 
a  virile  age  this  work  was  executed.  The  groining 
ribs  are  of  fine  outline,  the  key  blocks  are  starred, 
the  foliage  is  spirited  both  in  capitals  and  in  the  cusps 
of  the  many  arches,  the  details  are  carefully  molded 
and  distributed,  and  the  early  statues  in  the  internal 


54  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

angles  and  in  places  against  the  groining  ribs  are  of 
rich  treatment,  strong  feeling,  and  in  attitude  equal 
to  some  of  the  best  French  Gothic  of  the  same  period. 
The  door  that  leads  out  of  the  cloisters  into  the  old 
sacristy  with  the  Descent  from  the  Cross  in  its  tym- 
panum is  truly  a  beautiful  piece  of  this  Gothic  work. 

While  these  cloisters  lie  to  the  east,  the  broad 
terraces  leading  to  the  glorious,  southern  transept 
entrance  are  flanked  to  the  west  by  the  Archbishop 's 
Palace,  whose  bare  sides,  gaudy  Renaissance  door- 
way and  monstrous  episcopal  arms,  repeated  at 
various  stages,  hide  the  entire  southwestern  angle  of 
the  church. 

Between  the  cloisters  and  the  Archbishop's  Palace 
at  the  end  of  the  broad  terraces,  rises  the  masonry 
facing  the  southern  transept  arm.  It  belongs,  together 
with  that  of  the  northern,  to  the  oldest  portions  of  the 
early  fabric  erected  while  Maurice  was  bishop  and 
a  certain  "Enrique"  architect,  and  shows  admirable 
thirteenth -century  work.  The  Sarmentos  family, 
great  in  the  annals  of  this  century,  owned  the  ground 
immediately  surrounding  this  transept  arm.  As  a 
reward  for  their  concession  of  it  to  the  church,  the 
southern  portal  was  baptized  the  "Puerta  del  Sar- 
mental,"  and  they  were  honored  with  burial  ground 
within  the  church's  holy  precincts.  It  cannot  be 
much  changed,  but  stands  to-day  in  its  original  love- 
liness. 

A  statue  of  the  benign-looking  founder  of  the  church 
stands  between  the  two  doors,  which  on  the  outer  sides 
are  flanked  by  Moses,  Aaron,  Saint  Peter  and  Saint 
Paul,  and  the  two  saints  so  beloved  by  Spaniards, 
Saint  James  and  Saint  Philip.    The  archivolts  sur- 


Photo  by  A.  Vadillo 


(A  llll.UK'AL  OF  BURGOS 
The  Chapel  of  the  Constable 


BURGOS  55 

rounding  the  tympanum  are  filled  by  a  heavenly  host 
of  angels,  all  busied  with  celestial  occupations,  play- 
ing instruments,  swinging  censers,  carrying  candelabra, 
or  flapping  their  wings.  Both  statues  and  moldings 
are  of  character  and  outline  similar  to  French  work 
of  this  best  period,  nevertheless  of  a  certain  distinctly 
Spanish  feeling.  The  literary  company  of  the  tym- 
panum is  full  of  movement  and  simple  charm.  In  the 
lowest  plane  are  the  twelve  Apostles,  all,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  who  are  conversing,  occupied  with 
expounding  the  Gospels;  in  the  centre  is  Christ, 
reading  to  four  Evangelists  who  surround  him  as 
lion,  bull,  eagle  and  angel;  finally,  highest  up,  two 
monks  writing  with  feverish  haste  in  wide-open 
folios,  while  an  angel  lightens  their  labor  with  the 
perfume  from  a  swinging  censer. 

It  is  sculpture,  rich  in  effect,  faithful  in  detail  and 
of  strong  expression,  admirably  placed  in  relation  to 
the  masonry  it  ornaments.  It  has  none  of  the  whim- 
sical irrelevancy  to  surroundings  characterizing  so 
much  of  the  work  to  follow,  nor  its  hasty  execution. 
It  is  not  meaningless  carving  added  indefinitely  and 
senselessly  repeated,  but  every  bit  of  it  embellishes 
the  position  it  occupies.  Above  the  portal  the  stone- 
work is  broken  and  crowned  by  an  exquisite,  early 
rose  window  and  the"  later,  disproportionately  high 
parapet  of  angels  and  free-standing  quatrefoiled 
arches  and  ramps. 

The  northern  doorway,  almost  as  rich  in  names  as  in 
sculpture,  is  as  fine  as  the  southern,  so  far  below  it  on 
the  hillside.  It  is  called  the  Doorway  of  the  Apostles 
from  the  twelve  still  splendidly  preserved  statues, 
six  of  which  flank  it  on  each  side.  It  is  also  named  the 


56  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Door  of  the  Coroneria,  but  to  the  Burgalese  it  is 
known  simply  as  the  Puerta  Alta,  or  the  "high  door." 
The  door  proper  with  its  frame  is  a  later  makeshift 
for  the  original,  thirteenth-century  one.  On  a  base- 
course  in  the  form  of  an  arcade  with  almost  all  its 
columns  likewise  gone,  stand  in  monumental  size  the 
Twelve  Apostles.  The  drapery  is  handled  differently 
on  each  figure,  but  with  equal  excellence;  the  faces,  so 
full  of  expression  and  character,  stand  out  against 
great  halos  and  represent  the  apostles  of  all  ages. 
Similar  in  treatment  to  the  southern  door,  the  archi- 
volts  here  are  filled  with  a  series  of  fine  statues. 
There  are  angels  in  the  two  inner  arches  and  in  the 
outer,  and  the  naked  figures  of  the  just  are  rising  from 
their  sepulchres  in  the  most  astonishing  attitudes. 
The  tympanum  is  also  practically  a  counterpart  of 
the  southern  one,  only  here  in  its  centre  the  pre- 
dominating figure  of  the  Saviour  is  set  between  the 
Virgin  and  Saint  John. 

As  the  Puerta  Alta  is  so  high  above  the  church 
pavement,  and  ingress  would  in  daily  use  have 
proved  diflScult,  the  great  door  of  the  Pellejeria  was 
cut  in  the  northeastern  arm  of  the  transept  at  the 
end  of  the  furriers'  street,  and  down  a  series  of  moss- 
grown,  cobblestone  planes  the  Burgalese  could  gain 
entrance  to  their  church  from  this  side.  The  great 
framework  of  architecture  which  encases  it  is  so 
astonishingly  different  from  the  work  above  and 
around  it  that  one  can  scarcely  believe  it  possible 
that  they  belong  to  one  and  the  same  building.  It 
is  a  tremendous  piece  of  Plateresque  carving,  as 
exquisite  as  it  is  out  of  place,  erected  through  the 
munificence  of  the  Archbishop  Don  Juan  Rodriguez 


BURGOS  57 

de  Fonseca  in  1514  by  the  architect  Francisco  de 
Colonia.  It  might  have  stood  in  Florence,  and  most 
of  it  might  have  been  set  against  a  Tuscan  church  at 
the  height  of  the  Renaissance.  There  is  everywhere 
an  overabundance  of  luxurious  detail  and  rich  carv- 
ing. Between  the  entablatures  and  columns  stand 
favorite  saints.  The  Virgin  and  Child  are  adored 
by  a  very  well-fed,  fat-jowled  bishop  and  musical 
angels.  In  one  of  the  panels  the  sword  is  about  to 
descend  on  the  neck  of  the  kneeling  Saint  John.  In 
another,  some  unfortunate  person  has  been  squeezed 
into  a  hot  cauldron  too  small  for  his  naked  body, 
while  bellows  are  applied  to  the  fagots  underneath  it 
and  hot  tar  is  poured  on  his  head.  While  the  whole 
work  is  thoroughly  Renaissance,  there  is  here  and 
there  a  curious  Gothic  feeling  to  it,  from  which  the 
carvers,  surrounded  and  inspired  by  so  much  of  the 
earlier  art,  seem  to  have  been  unable  to  free  them- 
selves. This  appears  in  the  figure  ornamentation 
in  the  archivolts  around  the  circular-headed  open- 
ing, the  angel  heads  that  cut  it  as  it  were  into  cusps 
and  the  treatment  and  feeling  of  some  of  the  figures 
in  the  larger  panels. 

The  exterior  of  Santa  Maria  is  very  remarkable. 
It  is  a  wonderful  history  of  late  Gothic  and  early 
Renaissance  carving.  The  only  clearing  whence  any 
freedom  of  view  and  perspective  may  be  had  is  to  the 
west,  in  front  of  the  late  fifteenth-century  spires,  but 
wherever  one  stands,  whether  in  the  narrow  alleys 
to  the  southeast,  or  above,  or  below  in  the  sloping 
city,  the  three  great  masses  that  rise  above  the  cathe- 
dral roof,  of  spires,  cimborio,  and  the  Constable's 
Lantern,  dominate  majestically  all  around  them. 


«8  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

If  one  stands  at  the  northeast,  above  the  terraces 
that  descend  to  the  Pellejeria  door,  each  of  the  three 
successive  series  of  spires  that  rise  one  above  the 
other  far  to  the  westward  might  be  the  steeple  of  its 
own  mighty  church.  The  two  nearest  are  composed 
of  an  infinite  number  of  finely  crocketed  turrets,  tied 
together  by  a  sober,  Renaissance  bulk;  that  furthest 
off  shoots  its  twin  spires  in  Gothic  nervousness  airily 
and  unchecked  into  the  sky,  showing  the  blue  of  the 
heavens  through  its  flimsy  fabric.  Between  them,  tying 
the  huge  bulk  together,  stretch  the  buttresses,  the 
sinews  and  muscles  of  the  organism,  far  less  marked  and 
apparent,  however,  than  is  ordinarily  the  case.  At 
various  stages  above  and  around,  crowning  and  band- 
ing towers,  chapels,  apse,  naves,  and  transepts,  run 
the  many  balconies.  They  are  Renaissance  in  form, 
but  also  Gothic  in  detail  and  feeling.  Like  the  masts 
of  a  great  harbor,  an  innumerable  forest  of  carved 
and  stony  trunks  rise  from  every  angle,  buttress, 
turret,  and  pier.  In  among  them,  facing  their  carved 
trunks  and  crowning  their  tops,  peeping  out  from  the 
myriads  of  stony  branches,  stands  a  heavenly  legion 
of  saints  and  martyrs.  Crowned  and  celestial  kings 
and  angels  people  this  petrified  forest  of  such  pictur- 
esque and  exuberant  beauty. 

The  general  mass  that  rises  above  the  roofs,  now 
flat  and  covered  with  reddish  ochre  tiles,  is,  whatever 
may  be  the  defects  of  its  detail,  almost  unique  in  its 
lavish  richness.  The  spires  rest  upon  the  house-tops 
of  Burgos  like  the  jeweled  points  of  a  monarch's 
crown.  The  detail  is  so  profuse  that  it  well-nigh 
defies  analysis.  It  seems  as  if  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth  must  for  generations  have  been  ransacked  to 


BURGOS  59 

find  a  sufficient  number  of  carvers  for  the  sculpture. 
The  closer  one  examines  it,  the  more  astonishing  is 
the  infinite  labor.  Rich,  crocketed  cornices  support 
the  numerous,  crowning  balconies.  Figure  on  figure 
stands  against  the  many  sides  of  the  four  great  turrets 
that  brace  the  angles  of  the  cimborio,  against  the 
eight  turrets  that  meet  its  octagon,  on  the  corners 
of  spires,  under  the  parapets  crowning  the  transepts, 
under  the  canopied  angles  of  the  Constable's  Lantern, 
on  balconies,  over  railings,  and  on  balustrades.  Crock- 
ets cover  the  walls  like  feathers  on  the  breast  of  a 
bird.  It  surely  is  the  temple  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
the  number  of  whose  angels  is  legion.  It  is  confused, 
bewildering,  over-done  and  spectacular,  lacking  in 
character  and  sobriety,  sculptural  fire-works  if  you 
will,  a  curious  mixture  of  the  passing  and  the  com- 
ing styles,  but  nevertheless  it  is  wonderful,  and  the 
age  that  produced  it,  one  of  energy  and  vitality. 
Curiously  enough,  the  transepts  have  no  flying,  but 
mere  heavy,  simple  buttresses  to  meet  their  thrusts. 
The  ornamentation  of  the  lower  wall  surfaces  is  in 
contrast  to  the  superstructure,  barren  or  meaningless. 
On  the  plain  masonry  of  the  lower  walls  of  the  Con- 
stable's Chapel  stretch  gigantic  coat s-of -arms.  Knights 
support  their  heads  as  well  as  the  arms  of  the  nobles 
interred  within.  Life-sized  roaring  lions  stand  val- 
iantly beside  their  wheels  like  immortally  faithful 
mariners.  Above,  an  exquisitely  carved,  German  Gothic 
balustrade  acts  as  a  base  for  the  double  clerestory. 
The  angle  pinnacles  are  surrounded  by  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church  and  crowned  by  angels  holding  aloft 
the  symbol  of  the  Cross.  The  gargoyles  look  like 
peacefully  slumbering  cows  with  unchewed  cuds  pro- 


eo  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

truding  from  their  stony  jaws.  Tufts  of  grass  and 
flowers  have  sprung  from  the  seeds  borne  there  by 
the  winds  of  centuries. 

Outside  the  Chapel  of  Sant  lago  are  more  huge 
heraldic  devices:  knights  in  full  armor  and  lions  lift- 
ing by  razor-strops,  as  if  in  some  test  of  strength, 
great  wheels  encircling  crosses.  Above  them,  gar- 
goyles leer  demoniacally  over  the  heads  of  devout 
cherubim.  In  the  little  street  of  Diego  Porcello, 
named  for  the  great  noble  who  still  protects  his  city 
from  the  gate  of  Santa  Maria,  nothing  can  be  seen 
of  the  great  church  but  bare  walls  separated  from 
the  adjacent  houses  by  a  dozen  feet  of  dirty  cobble- 
stones. Ribs  of  the  original  chapels  that  once 
flanked  the  eastern  end,  behind  the  present  chapels 
of  Sant  lago  and  Santa  Catarina,  have  been  broken 
oflF  flat  against  the  exterior  walls,  and  the  cusps  of  the 
lower  arches  have  been  closed. 

Thus  the  fabric  has  been  added  to,  altered,  muti- 
lated or  embellished  by  foreign  masters  as  well  as 
Spanish  hands.  Who  they  all  were,  when  and  why 
they  wrought,  is  not  easy  to  discover.  Enrique,  Juan 
Perez,  Pedro  Sanchez,  Juan  Sanchez  de  Molina, 
Martin  Fernandez,  Juan  and  Francisco  de  Colonia 
and  Juan  de  Vallejo,  all  did  their  part  in  the  attempt 
to  make  Santa  Maria  of  Burgos  the  loveliest  church 
of  Spain. 

The  mighty  western  fagade  rises  in  a  confined 
square  where  acacia  trees  lift  their  fresh,  luxuriant 
heads  above  the  dust.  The  symmetry  of  the  towers, 
the  general  proportions  of  the  mass,  the  subdivisions 
and  relationship  of  the  stories,  the  conception  as  a 
whole,  clearly  show  that  it  belongs  to  an  age  of  triumph 


BURGOS  61 

and  genius,  in  spite  of  the  disfigurements  of  later 
vandals,  as  well  as  essentially  foreign  masters.  It  is 
of  queenly  presence,  a  queen  in  her  wedding  robes 
with  jewels  all  over  her  raiment,  the  costliest  of 
Spanish  lace  veiling  her  form  and  descending  from 
her  head,  covered  with  its  costly  diadem. 

North  and  south  the  towers  are  very  similar  and 
practically  of  equal  height,  giving  a  happily  balanced 
and  uniform  general  appearance.  The  lowest  stage, 
containing  the  three  doorways  leading  respectively 
into  north  aisle,  nave,  and  south  aisle,  has  been 
horribly  denuded  and  disfigured  by  the  barbarous 
eighteenth  century,  which  boasted  so  much  and  cre- 
ated so  little.  It  removed  the  glorious,  early  portico, 
leaving  only  bare  blocks  of  masonry  shorn  of  sculp- 
ture. No  greater  wrong  could  have  been  done  the 
church.  In  the  tympanum  above  the  southern  door, 
the  vandals  mercifully  left  a  Coronation  of  the  Virgin, 
and  in  the  northern  one,  the  Conception,  while  in  the 
piers,  between  these  and  the  central  opening,  four 
solitary  statues  of  the  two  kings,  Alfonso  VI  and 
Saint  Ferdinand,  and  the  two  bishops,  Maurice  and 
Asterio,  are  all  that  remain  of  the  early  glories.  The 
central  door  is  called  the  Doorway  of  Pardon. 

One  can  understand  the  bigotry  of  Henry  VIII 
and  the  Roundheads,  which  in  both  cases  wrought 
frightful  havoc  in  art,  but  it  is  truly  incomprehen- 
sible that  mere  artistic  conceit  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury could  compass  such  destruction.  The  second 
tier  of  the  screen  facing  the  nave,  below  a  large 
pointed  arch,  is  broken  by  a  magnificent  rose.  Above 
this  are  two  finely  traceried  and  subdivided  arches 
with  eight  statues  set  in  between  the  lowest  shafts. 


6«  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

The  central  body  is  crowned  by  an  openwork  bal- 
ustrade forming  the  uppermost  link  between  the 
towers.  The  Virgin  with  Child  reigns  in  the  centre 
between  the  carved  inscription,  "Pulchra  es  et  de- 
cora." Three  rows  of  pure,  ogival  arches,  delicate, 
and  attenuated,  break  the  square  sides  of  the  towers 
above  the  entrance  portals;  blind  arches,  spires  and 
statues  ornament  the  angles.  Throughout,  the  splays 
and  jambs  are  filled  with  glittering  balls  of  stone. 
Inscriptions  similar  in  design  to  that  finishing  the 
screen  which  hides  the  roof  lines  crown  the  platform 
of  the  towers  below  the  base  of  the  spires. 

The  towers  remained  without  steeples  for  over 
two  hundred  years  until  the  good  Bishop  Alfonso 
de  Cartagena,  returning  to  his  city  in  1442  from  the 
Council  of  Basle,  brought  with  him  the  German, 
Juan  de  Colonia.  Bishop  Alfonso  was  not  to  see 
their  completion,  for  he  died  fourteen  years  later, 
but  his  successor,  Don  Luis  de  Acuna,  immediately 
ordered  the  work  continued  and  saw  the  figures  of 
Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Paul  placed  on  the  uppermost 
spires,  three  hundred  feet  above  the  heads  of  the 
worshipping  multitude. 

The  spires  themselves,  essentially  German  in  char- 
acter, are  far  from  beautiful,  perforated  on  all  sides 
by  Gothic  tracery  of  multitudinous  designs,  too  weak 
to  stand  without  the  assistance  of  iron  tie  rods,  the 
angles  filled  with  an  infinite  number  of  coarse,  bold 
crockets  breaking  the  outlines  as  they  converge  into 
the  blue. 

When  prosperity  came  again  to  Burgos,  as  to  many 
other  Spanish  cities,  it  was  owing  to  the  wise  enact- 
ments of  Isabella  the  Catholic.  The  concordat  of  1851 


BURGOS  68 

enumerated   nine   archbishoprics   in  Spain,   among 
which  Burgos  stands  second  on  the  list. 

Such  is  Burgos,  serenely  beautiful,  rich  and  ex- 
ultant, the  apotheosis  of  the  Spanish  Renaissance  as 
well  as  studded  with  exquisitely  beautiful  Gothic 
work.  She  is  mighty  and  magnificent,  speaking  per- 
haps rather  to  the  senses  than  the  heart,  but  in  a 
language  which  can  never  be  forgotten.  Although 
various  epochs  created  her,  radically  different  in  their 
means  and  methods,  still  there  is  a  certain  intangi- 
ble unity  in  her  gorgeous  expression  and  a  unique 
picturesqueness  in  her  dazzling  presence. 


Ill 

AVILA 


FhotO  by  J.  LacoBte,  Mmlrid 


(JATHKDUAL  OF  AVILA 


Ill 

AVILA 

'  I  lift  mine  eyes,  and  all  the  windows  blaze 
With  forms  of  saints  and  holy  men  who  died, 
Here  martyred  and  hereafter  glorified; 
And  the  great  Rose  upon  its  leaves  displays 
Christ's  Triumph,  and  the  angelic  roundelays 
With  splendor  upon  splendor  multiplied. 

Longfellow. 

THE  Cathedral  of  San  Salvador  is  the  strongest 
link  in  the  chain  that  encircles  the  city  of  Avila, 
—  "cuidad  de  Castilla  la  vieja."  Avila  lies  on  a 
ridge  in  the  corner  of  a  great,  undulating  plain, 
clothed  with  fields  of  grain,  bleached  light  yellow 
at  harvest,  occasional  groups  of  ilex  and  straggling 
pine  and  dusty  olives  scrambling  up  and  down  the 
slopes.  Beyond  is  the  hazy  grayish-green  of  stubble 
and  dwarfed  woodland,  with  blue  peaks  closing  the 
horizon.  To  the  south  rises  the  Sierra  Gredos,  and 
eastwards,  in  the  direction  of  Segovia,  the  Sierra  de 
Guadarrama.  The  narrow,  murky  Adaja  that  loiters 
through  the  upland  plain  is  quite  insufficient  to  water 
the  thirsty  land.  Thistles  and  scrub  oak  dot  the 
rocky  fields.  Here  and  there  migratory  flocks  of 
sheep  nibble  their  way  across  the  unsavory  stubble, 
while  the  dogs  longingly  turn  their  heads  after  whis- 
tling quails  and  the  passing  hunter. 

The  crenelated,  ochre  walls  and  bastions  that,  like 
a  string  of  amber  beads,  have  girdled  the  little  city 


68  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

since  its  early  days,  remain  practically  unbroken, 
despite  the  furious  sieges  she  has  sustained  and  the 
battles  in  which  her  lords  were  engaged  for  ten  cen- 
turies. As  many  as  eighty-six  towers  crown,  and  no 
less  than  ten  gateways  pierce,  the  walls  which  follow 
the  rise  or  fall  of  the  ground  on  which  the  city  has 
been  compactly  and  narrowly  constructed  for  safest 
defense.  It  must  look  to-day  almost  exactly  as  it  did 
to  the  approaching  armies  of  the  Middle  Ages,  except 
that  the  men-at-arms  are  gone.  The  defenses  are  so 
high  that  what  is  inside  is  practically  hidden  from 
view  and  all  that  can  be  seen  of  the  city  so  rich  in 
saints  and  stones  ^  are  the  loftiest  spires  of  her  churches. 

To  the  Romans,  Avela,  to  the  Moors,  Abila,  the 
ancient  city,  powerfully  garrisoned,  lay  in  the  territory 
of  the  Vaccsei  and  belonged  to  the  province  of  His- 
pania  Citerior.  During  three  later  centuries,  from 
time  to  time  she  became  Abila,  and  one  of  the 
strongest  outposts  of  Mussulman  defense  against  the 
raids  of  Christian  bands  from  the  north.  Under  both 
Goths  and  Saracens,  Avila  belonged  to  the  province 
of  Merida.  At  a  very  early  date  she  boasted  an  epis- 
copal seat,  mentioned  in  church  councils  convoked 
during  the  seventh  century,  but,  during  temporary 
ascendencies  of  the  Crescent,  she  vanishes  from 
ecclesiastical  history.  For  a  while  Alfonso  I  held  the 
city  against  the  Moors,  but  not  until  the  reign  of 
Alfonso  VI  did  she  permanently  become  "Avila  del 
rey,"  and  the  quarterings  of  her  arms,  *'a  king  ap- 
pearing at  the  window  of  a  tower,"  were  left  unchal- 
lenged on  her  walls. 

By  the  eleventh  century  the  cities  of  Old  Castile 

^  Avila  santos  y  cantos. 


KEY  OF  PLAN  OF  AVILA  CATHEDRAL 

A.  Capilla  Mayor.  D.  Towers. 

B.  Crossing.  E.   Main  Entrnnce. 

C.  Cloisters.  F.    Nortliern  Portal. 


AVTLA  69 

were  ruined  and  depopulated  by  the  ravages  of  war. 
Even  the  walls  of  Avila  were  well-nigh  demolished, 
when  Count  Raymond  laid  them  out  anew  and  with 
the  blessing  of  Bishop  Pedro  Sanchez  they  rose  again 
in  the  few  years  between  1090  and  the  turning  of  the 
century.  The  material  lay  ready  to  hand  in  the  huge 
granite  boulders  sown  broadcast  on  the  bleak  hills 
around  Avila,  and  from  these  the  walls  were  rebuilt, 
fourteen  feet  thick  with  towers  forty  feet  high.  The 
old  Spanish  writer  Cean  Bermudez  describes  this 
epoch  of  Avila's  history. 

*'When,"  he  says,  "Don  Alfonso  VI  won  Toledo, 
he  had  in  continuous  wars  depopulated  Segovia, 
Avila  and  Salamanca  of  their  Moorish  inhabitants. 
He  gave  his  son-in-law,  the  Count  Don  Raymond 
of  the  house  of  Burgundy,  married  to  the  Princess 
Dona  Urraca,  the  charge  to  repeople  them.  Avila 
had  been  so  utterly  destroyed  that  the  soil  was  cov- 
ered with  stones  and  the  materials  of  its  ruined 
houses.  To  rebuild  and  repopulate  it,  the  Count 
brought  illustrious  knights,  soldiers,  architects,  oflS- 
cials  and  gentlemen  from  Leon,  the  Asturias,  Vizcaya 
and  France,  and  from  other  places.  They  began  to 
construct  the  walls  in  1090,  800  men  working  from  the 
very  beginning,  and  among  them  were  many  masters 
who  came  from  Leon  and  Vizcaya.  All  obeyed 
Casandro  Romano  and  Florin  de  Pituenga,  Masters 
of  Geometry,  as  they  are  called  in  the  history  of  this 
population,  which  is  attributed  to  the  Bishop  of 
Oviedo,  D.  Pilayo,  who  lived  at  that  time  and  who 
treats  of  these  things." 

During  these  perilous  years.  Count  Raymond 
wisely  lodged  his  masons  in  different  quarters  of  the 


70  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

city,  grouping  them  according  to  the  locahty  they 
came  from,  whether  from  Cantabria,  the  Asturias,  or 
the  territory  of  Burgos. 

A  nobihty,  as  quarrelsome  as  it  was  powerful,  must 
have  answered  Count  Raymond's  call  for  new  citi- 
zens, for  during  centuries  to  come,  the  streets,  like 
those  of  mediaeval  Siena  and  Florence,  constantly 
ran  with  the  blood  of  opposing  factions.  Warring 
families  dared  walk  only  certain  streets  after  nightfall, 
and  battles  were  carried  on  between  the  different 
castles  and  in  the  streets  as  between  cities  and  on 
battlefields.  In  the  quarrels  between  royal  brothers 
and  cousins,  Avila  played  a  very  prominent  part. 
The  nurse  and  protectress  of  their  tender  years,  and 
the  guardian  of  their  childhood  through  successive 
reigns  of  Castilian  kings,  she  became  a  very  vital 
factor  in  ihe  fortunes  of  kings,  prelates,  and  nobles. 
In  feuds  like  those  of  Don  Pedro  and  his  brother 
Enrique  II,  she  was  a  turbulent  centre.  Great  figures 
in  Spanish  history  ruled  from  her  episcopal  throne, 
especially  during  the  thirteenth  century.  There  was 
Pedro,  a  militant  bishop  and  one  of  the  most  valiant 
on  the  glorious  battlefield  of  Las  Navas;  Benilo, 
lover  of  and  beloved  by  Saint  Ferdinand;  and  Aymar, 
the  loyal  champion  of  Alfonso  the  Wise  through  dark 
as  well  as  sunny  hours. 

The  Jews  and  the  Moriscoes  here,  as  wherever  else 
their  industrious  fingers  and  ingenious  minds  were  at 
work,  did  much  more  than  their  share  towards  the 
prosperity  and  development  of  the  city.  The  Jews 
especially  became  firmly  established  in  their  useful 
vocations,  filling  the  king's  coffers  so  abundantly 
that  the  third  of  their  tribute,  which  he  granted  to 


AVILA  71 

the  Bishop,  was  not  appreciably  felt,  except  in  times 
of  armament  and  war.  With  the  fanatical  expulsion 
of  first  one,  and  then  the  other,  race,  the  city's  pro- 
sperity departed.  Their  place  was  filled  by  the  blood- 
hounds of  the  Inquisition,  who  held  their  very  first, 
terrible  tribunal  in  the  Convent  of  Saint  Thomas, 
blighting  the  city  and  surrounding  country  with  a 
new  and  terrible  curse.  The  great  rebellion  under  the 
Emperor  Charles  burst  from  the  smouldering  wrath 
of  Avila's  indignant  citizens,  and  in  1520  she  became, 
for  a  short  time,  the  seat  of  the  "Junta  Santa"  of  the 
Comuneros. 

It  is  still  easy  to  discern  what  a  tremendous  amount 
of  building  must  have  gone  on  within  the  narrow  city 
limits  during  the  early  part  of  its  second  erection. 
The  streets  are  still  full  of  bits  of  Romanesque  archi- 
tecture, palaces,  arcades,  houses,  balconies,  towers 
and  windows  and  one  of  the  finest  groups  of  Roman- 
esque churches  in  Spain.  Of  lesser  sinew  and  greater 
age  than  San  Salvador,  they  are  now  breathing  their 
last.  San  Vicente  is  almost  doomed,  while  San  Pedro 
and  San  Segundo  are  fast  falling. 

But  San  Salvador  remains  still  unshaken  in  her 
strength, — a  fortress  within  a  cathedral,  a  splen- 
did mailed  arm  with  its  closed  fist  of  iron  reaching 
through  the  outer  bastions  and  threatening  the 
plains.  It  is  a  bold  cry  of  Christian  defiance  to  ene- 
mies without.  If  ever  there  was  an  embodiment  in 
architecture  of  the  church  militant,  it  is  in  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Avila.  Approaching  it  by  San  Pedro,  you  look 
in  vain  for  the  church,  for  the  great  spire  that  loomed 
up  from  the  distant  hills  and  was  pointed  out  as  the 
holy  edifice.    In  its  place  and  for  the  eastern  apse, 


W  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

you  see  only  a  huge  gray  bastion,  strong  and  secure, 
crowned  at  all  points  by  battlements  and  galleries 
for  sentinels  and  fighting  men, — inaccessible,  grim, 
and  warlike.  A  fitting  abode  for  the  men  who  rather 
rode  a  horse  than  read  a  sermon  and  preferred  the 
breastplate  to  the  cassock,  a  splendid  epitome  of  that 
period  of  Spanish  history  when  the  Church  fought 
instead  of  prying  into  men's  souls.  It  well  represents 
the  unification  of  the  religious  and  military  oflSces 
devolving  on  the  Church  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  in  Castile,  —  a  bellicose  house  rather  than 
one  of  prayer. 

All  the  old  documents  and  histories  of  the  Church 
state  that  the  great  Cathedral  was  started  as  soon  as 
the  city  walls  were  well  under  way  in  1091  and  was 
completed  after  sixteen  years  of  hard  work.  Alvar 
Garcia  from  Estrella  in  Navarre  is  recorded  as  the 
principal  original  architect,  Don  Pedro  as  the  Bishop, 
and  Count  Raymond  as  spurring  on  the  1900  men 
at  work,  while  the  pilgrims  and  faithful  were  solicit- 
ing alms  and  subscriptions  through  Italy,  France,  and 
the  Christian  portions  of  the  Spanish  Peninsula. 

Of  the  earliest  church  very  little  remains,  possibly 
only  the  outer  walls  of  the  great  bastion  that  en- 
closes the  eastern  termination  of  the  present  edifice. 
This  is  much  larger  than  the  other  towers  of  defense, 
and,  judging  from  the  excellent  character  of  its 
masonry,  which  is  totally  different  from  the  coarse 
rubble  of  the  remaining  city  walls  and  towers,  it 
must  have  been  built  into  them  at  a  later  date,  as 
well  as  with  much  greater  care  and  skill.  Many  hy- 
potheses have  been  suggested,  as  to  why  the  apse  of 
the  original  church  was  thus  built  as  a  portion  of  the 


AVILA  73 

walls  of  defense.  All  seem  doubtful.  It  was  possibly 
that  the  altar  might  come  directly  above  the  resting- 
place  of  some  venerated  saint,  or  perhaps  to  econo- 
mize time  and  construction  by  placing  the  apse  in  a 
most  vulnerable  point  of  attack  where  lofty  and  im- 
pregnable masonry  was  requisite. 

The  church  grew  towards  the  west  and  the  main 
entrance,  —  the  transepts  themselves,  and  all  work 
west  of  them,  with  the  advent  of  the  new  style.   We 
thus  obtain  in  Avila,  owing  to  the  very  early  com- 
mencement of  its  apse,  a  curious  and  vitally  interest- 
ing conglomeration  of  the  Romanesque  and  Gothic. 
Practically,  however,  all  important  portions  of  the 
structure  were  completed  in  the  more  vigorous  periods 
of  the  Gothic  style  with  the  resulting  felicitous  effect. 
The  building  of  the  apse  or  the  chevet  westward 
must,  to  judge  from  its  style,  have  advanced  very 
slowly  during  the  first  hundred  years,  for  its  general 
character  is  rather  that  of  the  end  of  the  twelfth  and 
beginning  of  the  thirteenth  centuries  (the  reign  of 
Alfonso  VIII)  than  of  the  pure  Romanesque  work 
which  was  still  executed  in  Castile  at  the  beginning 
of  the  twelfth  century.   A  great  portion  of  the  early 
Gothic  work  is,  apart  from  its  artistic  merit,  histori- 
cally interesting,  as  showing  the  first  tentative,  and 
often  groping,  steps  of  the  masters  who  wished  to 
employ  the  new  forms  of  the  north,  but  followed 
slowly  and  with   a  hesitation   that   betrayed  their 
inexperience.     Arches  were    spanned   and  windows 
broken,  later  to  be  braced  and  blocked  up  in  time 
to  avert  a  catastrophe.  The  transepts  belong  to  the 
earliest  part  of  the  fourteenth  century.    We  have 
their  definite  dates  from   records,  —  the  northern 


74  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

arm  rose  where  previously  had  stood  a  little  chapel 
and  was  given  by  the  Chapter  to  Dean  Blasco 
Blasques  as  an  honorable  burial  place  for  himself  and 
his  family,  while  Bishop  Blasquez  Davila,  the  tutor 
of  Alfonso  IX  and  principal  notary  of  Castile,  raised 
the  southern  arm  immediately  afterwards.  He  occu- 
pied the  See  for  almost  fifty  years,  and  must  have  seen 
the  nave  and  side  aisles  and  the  older  portions,  in- 
cluding the  northwestern  tower,  all  pretty  well  con- 
structed. This  tower  with  its  unfinished  sister  and 
portions  of  the  west  front  are  curiously  enough  late 
Romanesque  work,  and  must  thus  have  been  started 
before  the  nave  and  side  aisles  had  reached  them 
in  their  western  progress.  The  original  cloisters  be- 
longed to  the  fourteenth  century,  as  also  the  northern 
portal.  Chapels,  furnishings,  pulpits,  trascoro,  choir 
stalls,  glazing,  all  belong  to  later  times,  as  well  as  the 
sixteenth-century  mutilations  of  the  front  and  the 
various  exterior  Renaissance  excrescences. 

It  is  interesting  to  infer  that  the  main  part  of  the 
fabric  must  virtually  have  been  completed  in  1432, 
when  Pope  Eugenio  IV  published  a  bull  in  favor  of 
the  work.  Here  he  only  speaks  of  the  funds  requisite 
for  its  "preservation  and  repair."  We  may  judge 
from  such  wording  the  condition  of  the  structure  as 
a  whole. 

The  most  extraordinary  portion  of  the  building  is 
unquestionably  its  "fighting  turret"  and  eastern 
end.  This  apse  is  almost  unique  in  Spanish  architec- 
tural history  and  deeply  absorbing  as  an  extensive 
piece  of  Romanesque  work,  not  quite  free  from 
Moorish  traces  and  already  employing  in  its  vault- 
ing Gothic  expedients.    It  may  be  called  "barbaric 


AVILA  75 

Gothic"  or  "decadent  Romanesque/'  but,  whatever 
it  is  termed,  it  will  be  vitally  interesting  and  fasci- 
nating to  the  student  of  architectural  history. 

Externally  the  mighty  stone  tower  indicates  none 
of  its  interior  disposition  of  chapels  or  vaulting. 
The  black,  weather-stained  granite  of  its  bare  walls 
is  alternately  broken  by  slightly  projecting  pilasters 
and  slender,  columnar  shafts.  They  are  crowned  by 
a  corbel  table  and  a  high,  embattled  parapet,  that 
yielded  protection  to  the  soldiers  occupying  the  plat- 
form immediately  behind,  which  communicated  with 
the  passage  around  the  city  walls.  This  is  again 
backed  by  a  second  wall  similarly  crowned.  The 
narrowest  slits  of  windows  from  the  centres  of  the 
radiating,  apsidal  chapels  break  the  lower  surfaces, 
while  double  flying  buttresses  meet,  at  the  level  of 
the  triforium  and  above  the  clerestory  windows,  the 
thrusts  of  the  upper  walls. 

The  plan  is  most  curious,  and  on  account  of  its 
irregularity  as  well  as  certain  inconsistencies,  it  is 
difficult  to  guess  how  far  it  was  originally  conceived 
in  its  present  form,  or  what  alterations  were  made  in 
the  earlier  centuries.  Some  changes  must  have  been 
made  in  its  vaulting.  The  chevet  or  Capilla  Mayor, 
which  at  first  very  properly  contained  the  choir,  is 
surrounded  by  a  double  ambulatory,  outside  of  which 
the  thick  walls  are  pierced  by  nine  apsidal  chapels. 
It  is  probable  that  these  were  originally  constructed 
by  the  engineers  to  lighten  the  enormous  bulk  of  the 
outer  masonry.  They  are  not  quite  semicircles  in 
plan,  and  are  vaulted  in  various  simple  ways.  Where 
ribs  occur,  they  meet  in  the  key  of  the  arch  separat- 
ing chapel  from  ambulatory.    The  piers  round  the 


7«  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

apse  itself  are  alternately  monocylindrical  and  com- 
posite; the  intermediate  ones,  subdividing  unequally 
the  "girola,"  are  lofty,  slender  columns,  while  those 
of  the  exterior  are  polygonal  in  plan,  with  shafts 
against  their  faces.  Some  of  the  caps  are  of  the  best 
Romanesque  types,  and  composed  of  animals,  birds, 
and  leaves,  while  others,  possibly  substituted  for  the 
original  ones,  have  a  plain  bell  with  the  ornamenta- 
tion crudely  applied  in  color. 

The  Capilla  Mayor  has  both  triforium  and  clere- 
story of  exquisite  early  work.  Dog-tooth  moldings 
ornament  the  archivolts.  Mohammedan  influence 
had  asserted  itself  in  the  triforium,  which  is  divided 
by  slender  shafts  into  two  windows  terminating  in 
horseshoe  arches,  while  the  clerestory  consists  of 
broad,  round,  arched  openings. 

The  construction  and  balance  of  the  apse  thrusts 
were  doubtless  originally  of  a  somewhat  different 
nature  from  what  we  find  at  present,  as  may  easily 
be  observed  from  the  materials,  the  function  and 
positions  of  the  double  flying  buttresses.  They  may 
have  been  added  as  late  as  three  centuries  after  the 
original  fabric.  Lamperez  y  Romea's  observations 
in  regard  to  this  are  most  interesting:  — 

"We  must  observe  in  the  two  present  orders  of 
windows,  that  the  lower  was  never  built  for  lights  and 
its  construction  with  double  columns  forming  a  hol- 
low space  proves  it  a  triforium.  That  it  was  actually 
so  is  further  abundantly  proved  by  several  circum- 
stances: first,  by  a  parapet  or  wall  which  still  exists 
below  the  actual  roof  and  which  follows  the  exterior 
polygonal  line  of  the  girola,  as  well  as  by  some  semi- 
Romanesque  traceries  which  end  in  the  wall  of  the 


AVILA  77 

Capilla  Mayor,  and  finally,  by  a  continuous  row  of 
supports  existing  in  the  thickness  of  the  same  wall 
below  a  gutter,  separating  the  two  orders  of  windows. 
These  features,  as  well  as  the  general  arrangement  of 
the  openings,  demonstrate  that  there  was  a  trifo- 
rium  of  Romanesque  character,  occupying  the  whole 
width  of  the  girola,  which  furthermore  was  covered 
by  a  barrel  vault.  Above  this  came  the  great  plat- 
form or  projecting  balcony,  corresponding  to  the 
second  defensive  circuit.  Military  necessity  explains 
this  triforium;  without  it,  there  would  be  no  need  of 
a  system  of  continuous  counterthrusts  to  that  of  the 
vaults  of  the  crossing.  If  we  concede  the  existence  of 
this  triforium,  various  obscure  points  become  clear." 

The  Capilla  Mayor  has  four  bays  prior  to  reach- 
ing the  pentagonal  termination.  The  vaulting  of  the 
most  easterly  bay  connects  with  that  of  the  pentagon, 
thus  leaving  three  remaining  bays  to  vault;  two  form 
a  sexpartite  vault,  and  the  third,  nearest  the  transept, 
a  quadripartite.  All  the  intersections  are  met  by 
bosses  formed  by  gilded  and  spreading  coats-of-arms. 
The  ribs  do  not  all  carry  properly  down,  two  out  of 
the  six  being  merely  met  by  the  keystones  of  the 
arches  between  Capilla  Mayor  and  ambulatory.  The 
masonry  of  the  vaulting  is  of  a  reddish  stone,  while 
that  of  the  transepts  and  nave  is  yellow,  laid  in  broad, 
white  joints. 

In  various  portions  of  the  double  ambulatory  pass- 
age as  well  as  some  of  the  chapels,  the  fine,  deep  green 
and  gold  and  blue  Romanesque  coloring  may  still 
be  seen,  giving  a  rich  impression  of  the  old  barbaric 
splendor  and  gem-like  richness  so  befitting  the  cloth- 
ing^ of  the  style.    Other  portions,  now  bare,  must 


78  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

surely  all  have  been  colored.  The  delicate,  slender 
shafts,  subdividing  unequally  the  ambulatory,  have 
really  no  carrying  office,  but  were  probably  intro- 
duced to  lessen  the  difficulty  of  vaulting  the  irregular 
compartments  of  such  unequal  sides.  Gothic  art 
was  still  in  its  infancy,  and  the  splendid  grasp  of  the 
vaulting  difficulties  and  masterly  solution  of  its 
problems  exemplified  in  so  many  later  ambulatories, 
had  not  as  yet  been  reached.  Here  we  have  about  the 
first  fumbling  attempt.  The  maestro  is  still  fighting 
in  the  dark  with  unequal  thrusts,  sides  and  arches 
of  different  widths,  and  a  desire  to  meet  them  all 
with  something  higher  and  lighter  than  the  old  con- 
tinuous barrel  vault.  A  step  forward  in  the  earnest 
effort  toward  higher  development,  such  as  we  find 
here,  deserves  admiration.  The  profiles  of  the  ribs 
are  simple,  undecorated  and  vigorous,  as  were  all  the 
earliest  ones;  in  the  chapels,  or  rather  the  exedras 
in  the  outer  walls,  the  ribs  do  not  meet  in  a  common 
boss  or  keystone,  its  advantages  not  as  yet  being 
known  to  the  builders.  A  good  portion  of  the  old 
roof-covering  of  the  Cathedral,  not  only  over  the 
eastern  end,  but  pretty  generally  throughout,  has 
either  been  altered,  or  else  the  present  covering  con- 
ceals the  original. 

Thus  it  is  easy  to  detect  from  the  outside,  if  one 
stands  at  the  northwestern  angle  of  the  church  and 
looks  down  the  northern  face,  that  the  upper  masonry 
has  been  carried  up  by  some  three  feet  of  brickwork, 
evidently  of  later  addition,  on  top  of  which  comes  the 
present  covering  of  terra-cotta  tiles.  The  old  roof- 
covering  here  of  stone  tiles,  as  also  above  the  apse, 
rested  directly  on  the  inside  vaults,  naturally  dam- 


AVUA  79 

aging  them  by  its  weight,  and  not  giving  full  pro- 
tection aginst  the  weather.  The  French  slopes  had  in 
some  instances  been  slavishly  copied,  but  the  steep 
roofs  requisite  in  northern  cathedrals  were  soon 
after  abandoned,  being  unnecessary  in  the  Spanish 
climate.  Over  the  apse  of  Avila,  there  may  still 
be  found  early  thirteenth-century  roofing,  consisting 
of  large  stone  flags  laid  in  rows  with  intermediary 
grooves  and  channels,  very  much  according  to  an- 
cient established  Roman  and  Byzantine  traditions. 
Independent  superstructure  above  the  vault  proper, 
to  carry  the  outside  covering,  had  not  been  intro- 
duced when  this  roofing  was  laid. 

In  its  early  days  many  a  noted  prelate  and  hon- 
ored churchman  was  laid  to  rest  within  the  holy  pre- 
cinct of  the  choir  in  front  of  the  high  altar  or  in  the 
rough  old  sepulchres  of  the  surrounding  chapels. 
With  the  moving  of  the  choir,  and  probably  also  a 
change  in  the  church  ceremonies,  came  a  rearrange- 
ment of  the  apse  and  the  Capilla  Mayor's  relation  to 
the  new  rites. 

The  retablo  back  of  the  high  altar,  consisting  of 
Plateresque  ornament,  belongs  for  the  most  part  to 
the  Renaissance.  The  Evangelists  and  church  fathers 
are  by  Pedro  Berruguete  (not  as  great  as  his  son,  the 
sculptor  Alfonso),  Juan  de  Borgona  and  Santos  Cruz. 
In  the  centre,  facing  the  ambulatory  behind,  is  a 
fine  Renaissance  tomb  of  the  renowned  Bishop  Al- 
fonso Tostada  de  Madrigal.  He  is  kneeling  in  full 
episcopal  robes,  deeply  absorbed  either  in  writing  or 
possibly  reading  the  Scriptures.  The  workmanship 
on  mitre  and  robe  is  as  fine  as  the  similar  remark- 
able work  in  Burgos,  while  the  enclosing  rail  is  a 


80  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

splendid  example  of  the  blending  of  Gothic  and  Re- 
naissance. 

,  The  glass  in  the  apse  windows  is  exceptionally  rich 
and  magniiicently  brilliant  in  its  coloring.  It  was 
executed  by  Alberto  Holando,  one  of  the  great  Dutch 
glaziers  of  Burgos,  who  was  given  the  entire  contract 
in  1520  by  Bishop  Francisco  Ruiz,  a  nephew  of  the 
great  Cardinal  Cisneros. 

Such,  in  short,  are  the  characteristics  of  the  chevet 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Avila,  constructed  in  an  age 
when  its  builders  must  have  worked  in  a  spirit  of 
hardy  vigor  with  the  trowel  in  one  hand  and  the 
sword  in  the  other.  As  we  see  it  to-day,  it  imparts  a 
feeling  of  mystery,  and  its  oriental  splendor  is  en- 
hanced by  the  dim,  religious  light. 

In  entering  the  crossing,  we  step  into  the  fullness 
of  the  Gothic  triumph.  The  vaults  have  been  thrown 
into  the  sky  to  the  height  of  130  feet.  It  is  early 
Gothic  work,  with  its  many  errors  and  consequent 
retracing  of  steps  made  in  ignorance.  The  great 
arches  that  span  the  crossing  north  and  south  had 
taken  too  bold  a  leap  and  subsequently  required  the 
support  of  cross  arches.  The  western  windows  and 
the  great  roses  at  the  end  of  the  transepts,  with  early 
heavy  traceries,  proved  too  daring  and  stone  had  to 
be  substituted  for  glass  in  their  apertures;  the  long 
row  of  nave  windows  have  likewise  been  filled  with 
masonry.  Despite  these  and  many  similar  penalties 
for  rashness,  the  work  is  as  dignified  as  it  is  admirable. 
Of  course  the  proportions  are  all  small  in  comparison 
with  such  later  great  Gothic  churches  as  Leon  and 
Burgos,  the  nave  and  transepts  here  being  merely 
28  to  30  feet  wide,  the  aisles  only  24  feet  wide.   Avila 


AVILA  81 

is  but  an  awkward  young  peasant  girl  if  compared 
with  the  queenly  presence  of  her  younger  sisters. 
Nevertheless  Avila  is  in  true  Spanish  peasant  cos- 
tume, while  Leon  and  Burgos  are  tricked  out  in  bor- 
rowed finery.  The  nave  is  short  and  narrow,  but 
that  gives  an  impression  of  greater  height,  and  the 
obscurity  left  by  the  forced  substitution  of  stone  for 
glass  in  the  window  spaces  adds  to  the  solemnity. 
The  nave  consists  of  five  bays,  the  aisle  on  each  side 
of  it  rising  to  about  half  its  height.  The  golden 
groining  is  quadripartite,  the  ribs  meeting  in  great 
colored  bosses  and  pendents,  added  at  periods  of  less 
simple  taste.  In  the  crossing  alone,  intermediary  ribs 
have  been  added  in  the  vaulting. 

The  walls  of  the  transept  underneath  the  great 
blind  wheels  to  the  north  and  south  are  broken  by 
splendid  windows,  each  with  elaborate  tracery  (as 
also  the  eastern  and  western  walls),  heavy  and 
strong,  but  finely  designed.  The  glazing  is  glorious, 
light,  warm,  and  intense.  The  walls  of  the  nave,  set 
back  above  the  lowest  arcade  some  eighteen  inches, 
have  triforium  and  clerestory,  and  above  this  again, 
they  are  filled  quite  up  to  the  vaulting  with  elaborate 
tracery,  possibly  once  foolhardily  conceived  to  carry 
glass.  Each  bay  has  six  arches  in  both  triforium 
and  clerestory,  all  of  simple  and  early  apertures. 
The  glazing  of  the  clerestory  is  white,  excepting  in 
one  of  the  bays.  In  this  single  instance,  a  simple, 
geometric  pattern  of  buff  and  blue  stripes  is  of 
wonderfully  harmonious  and  lovely  color  effect. 

The  shafts  that  separate  nave  from  side  aisles  are 
still  quite  Romanesque  in  feeling,  —  of  polygonal 
core  faced  by  four  columns  and  eight  ribs.   The  capi- 


82  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

tals  are  very  simple  with  no  carving,  but  merely  a 
gilded  representation  of  leafage,  while  the  base  molds 
carry  around  all  breaks  of  the  pier.  It  may  be  coarse 
and  crude  in  feeling  and  execution,  certainly  very  far 
from  the  exquisite  finish  of  Leon,  nevertheless  the 
infancy  of  an  architectural  style,  like  a  child's,  has  the 
peculiar  interest  of  what  it  holds  in  promise.  Like 
Leon,  the  side  aisles  have  double  roofing,  allowing 
the  light  to  penetrate  to  the  nave  arcade  and  form- 
ing a  double  gallery  running  round  the  church. 

Many  of  the  bishops  who  were  buried  in  the  choir 
in  its  old  location  were,  on  its  removal  to  the  bay  im- 
mediately west  of  the  crossing,  also  moved  and  placed 
in  the  various  chapels.  The  sepulchre  of  Bishop  San- 
cho  Davila  is  very  fine.  Like  his  predecessors,  he 
was  a  fighting  man.    His  epitaph  reads  as  follows:  — 

"Here  lies  the  noble  cavalier  Sancho  Davila, 
Captain  of  the  King  Don  Fernando  and  the  Queen 
Dona  Isabel,  our  sovereigns,  and  their  alcaide  of  the 
castles  of  Carmona,  son  of  Sancho  Sanches,  Lord  of 
San  Roman  and  of  Villanueva,  who  died  fighting  like 
a  good  cavalier  against  the  Moors  in  the  capture  of 
Alhama,  which  was  taken  by  his  valor  on  the  28th  of 
February  in  the  year  1490." 

The  pulpits  on  each  side  of  the  crossing,  attached 
to  the  great  piers,  are,  curiously  enough,  of  iron,  ex- 
quisitely wrought  and  gilded.  The  one  on  the  side 
of  the  epistle  is  Gothic  and  the  other  Renaissance, 
the  body  of  each  of  them  bearing  the  arms  of  the 
Cathedral,  the  Agnus  Dei,  and  the  ever-present  lions 
and  castles.  The  rejas,  closing  off  choir  and  Capilla 
Mayor  in  the  customary  manner,  are  heavy  and  un- 
gainly.   On  the  other  hand,  the  trascoro,  that  often 


AVILA  88 

sadly  blocks  up  the  sweep  of  the  nave,  is  unusually- 
low  and  comparatively  inconspicuous.  It  contains 
reliefs  of  the  life  of  Christ,  from  the  first  half  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  by  Juan  Res  and  Luis  Giraldo. 
The  choir  itself  is  so  compact  that  it  only  occupies  one 
bay.  The  chapter  evidently  was  a  modest  one.  The 
stalls  are  of  elaborate  Renaissance  workmanship. 
The  verger  now  in  charge,  with  the  voice  of  a  hoarse 
crow,  reads  you  the  name  of  the  carver  as  the  Dutch- 
man "Cornelis  1536." 

Strange  to  say,  there  are  no  doors  leading,  as 
they  logically  should,  into  the  centre  of  the  arms  of 
the  transept.  Through  some  perversity,  altars  have 
taken  their  place,  while  the  northern  and  south- 
em  entrances  have  been  pushed  westward,  opening 
into  the  first  bays  of  the  side  aisles.  The  southern 
door  leads  to  a  vestibule,  the  sacristy  with  fine 
Gothic  vaulting  disfigured  by  later  painting,  a  fine 
fifteenth-century  chapel  and  the  cloisters.  None  of 
this  can  be  seen  from  the  front,  as  it  is  hidden  by 
adjoining  houses  and  a  bare,  pilastered  wall  crowned 
by  a  carved  Renaissance  balustrade.  The  galleries 
of  the  present  cloisters  are  later  Gothic  work  with 
Plateresque  decorations  and  arches  walled  up. 

Avila  Cathedral  is,  as  it  were,  a  part  and  parcel  of 
the  history  of  Castile  during  the  reigns  of  her  early 
kings,  the  turbulent  times  when  self-preservation  was 
the  only  thought,  any  union  of  provinces  far  in  the 
future,  and  a  Spanish  kingdom  undreamed  of.  She 
was  a  great  church  in  a  small  kingdom,  in  the  em- 
pire she  became  insignificant.  Much  of  her  history  is 
unknown,  but  in  the  days  of  her  power,  she  was  cer- 
tainly associated  with  all  great  events  in  old  Castile. 


84  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Her  influence  grew  with  her  emoluments  and  the 
ever-increasing  body  of  ecclesiastical  functionaries. 
In  times  of  war,  she  became  a  fortress,  and  her  bishop 
was  no  longer  master  of  his  house.  The  Captain- 
General  took  command  of  the  bastions,  as  of  those 
of  the  Alcazar,  and  soldiers  took  the  place  of  priests 
in  the  galleries.  She  was  the  key  to  the  city,  and  on 
her  flat  roofs  the  opposing  armies  closed  in  the  final 
struggle  for  victory. 

The  Cathedral  has,  in  fact,  only  an  eastern  and  a 
northern  elevation,  the  exterior  to  the  west  and  south 
being  hidden  by  the  huge  tower  and  the  confused 
mass  of  chapels  and  choir  which  extend  to  the  walls 
and  houses. 

The  western  entrance  front  is  noble  and  dignified 
in  its  austere  severity;  probably  as  old  as  the  clerestory 
of  the  nave,  it  is  a  grim  sentinel  from  the  first  part 
of  the  fourteenth  century.  With  the  exception  of 
the  entrance,  it  speaks  the  Romanesque  language, 
although  its  windows  and  some  of  its  decoration  are 
pointed.  It  is  magnificent  and  impressive,  very 
Spanish,  and  almost  unique  in  the  Peninsula.  Four 
mighty  buttresses  subdivide  the  composition;  be- 
tween these  is  the  entrance,  and  to  the  north  and 
south  are  the  towers  which  terminate  the  aisles. 

The  southern  tower  has  never  been  finished.  The 
northern  is  full  of  inspiration.  It  is  broken  at  two 
stages  by  double  windows,  the  upper  ones  of  the 
belfry  being  crowned  by  pediments  and  surmounted 
by  rich,  sunk  tracery.  The  piers  terminate  in  hex- 
agonal pinnacles,  while  the  tower,  as  well  as  the  rest 
of  the  front,  is  finished  with  a  battlement.  The  later 
blocking  up  of  this,  as  well  as  the  superimposed  roof- 


AVILA  85 

ing,  is  very  evident  and  disturbing.  All  the  angles  of 
buttresses,  of  windows,  arches,  splays,  and  pyramids, 
— those  also  crowning  the  bulky  piers  that  meet  the 
flying  buttresses,  —  are  characteristically  and  uniquely 
decorated  with  an  ornamentation  of  balls.  It  softens 
the  hard  lines,  splashing  the  surface  with  infinite 
series  of  small,  sharp  shadows  and  making  it  sparkle 
with  life  and  light.  The  angles  recall  the  blunt,  blue 
teeth  of  a  saw. 

The  main  entrance,  as  well  as  the  first  two  bays 
of  the  naves  underneath  the  towers,  must  originally 
have  been  of  different  construction  from  the  present 
one.  Inside  the  church,  these  bays  are  blocked  oflf 
from  nave  and  side  aisles  by  walls,  on  top  of  which 
they  communicate  with  each  other  as  also  with  the 
eastern  apse  by  galleries,  probably  all  necessary  for 
the  defense  of  troops  in  the  early  days.  Possibly  a 
narthex  terminated  the  nave  back  of  the  original 
entrance  portal  underneath  the  present  vaulted  com- 
partment. 

The  main  entrance  door  is  indeed  a  strange  appa- 
rition. In  its  whiteness  between  the  sombre  tints  of 
the  martial  towers,  it  rises  like  a  spectre  in  the  wind- 
ing-sheets of  a  later  age.  It  is  distressingly  out  of 
place  and  time  in  its  dark  framework. 

"But  in  a  great  house  there  are  not  only  vessels  of 
gold  and  of  silver,  but  also  of  wood  and  of  earth,  and 
some  to  honor,  and  some  to  dishonor." 

The  semicircular  door  is  crowned  by  a  profusely 
subdivided,  Gothic  archivolt  and  guarded  by  two 
scaly  giants  or  wild  men  that  look,  with  their  raised 
clubs,  as  if  they  would  beat  the  life  out  of  any  one 
who  should  try  to  enter  the  holy  cavern.  Saints  Peter 


86  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

and  Paul  float  on  clouds  in  the  spandrels.  Above 
rises  a  sixteenth-century  composition  of  masks  and 
canopied  niches.  The  Saviour  naturally  occupies  the 
centre,  flanked  by  the  various  saints  that  in  times  of 
peril  protected  the  church  of  Avila:  Saints  Vincente, 
Sabina  and  Cristela,  Saint  Segundo  and  Santa  Teresa. 
In  the  attic  in  front  of  a  tremendous  traceried  cusp, 
with  openings  blocked  by  masonry,  the  ornamenta- 
tion runs  completely  riot.  Saint  Michael,  standing  on 
top  of  a  dejected  and  doubled-up  dragon,  looks  down 
on  figures  that  are  crosses  between  respectable  cary- 
atides and  disreputable  mermaids.  It  is  certainly  as 
immaterial  as  unknown,  when  and  by  whom  was  per- 
petrated this  degenerate  sculpture  now  shamelessly 
disfiguring  a  noble  casing.  The  strong,  early  towers 
seem  in  their  turn  doubly  powerful  and  eloquent  in 
their  simplicity  and  one  wishes  the  old  Romanesque 
portal  were  restored  and  the  great  traceries  above  it 
glazed  to  flood  the  nave  with  western  sunlight. 

The  northeastern  angle  is  blocked  by  poor  Re- 
naissance masonry,  the  exterior  of  the  chapels  here 
being  faced  by  a  Corinthian  order  and  broken  by 
circular  lights. 

The  northern  portal  is  as  fine  as  that  of  the  main 
entrance  is  paltry.  The  head  of  the  door,  as  well  as 
the  great  arch  which  spans  the  recess  into  which  the 
entire  composition  is  set,  is,  curiously  enough,  three- 
centred,  similar  to  some  of  the  elliptical  ones  at 
Burgos  and  Leon.  A  lion,  securely  chained  to  the 
church  wall  for  the  protection  of  worshipers,  guards 
each  side  of  the  entrance.  Under  the  five  arches 
stand  the  twelve  Apostles,  timeworn,  weather-beaten 
and  mutilated,  but  splendid  bits  of  late  thirteenth- 


Photo  by  J .  1 


CATHEDRAL  OF  AVILA 
Main  entrance 


AVILA  87 

century  carving.  For  they  must  be  as  early  as  that. 
The  archivolts  are  simply  crowded  with  small  fig- 
ures of  angels,  of  saints,  and  of  the  unmistakably 
lost.  In  the  tympanum  the  Saviour  occupies  the 
centre,  and  around  Him  is  the  same  early,  naive  re- 
presentation of  figures  from  the  Apocalypse,  angels, 
and  the  crowned  Virgin. 

Two  years  before  Luther,  a  true  exponent  of  Teu- 
tonic genius,  had  nailed  his  theses  to  the  door  of  a 
cathedral  in  central  Germany,  there  was  born  in  the 
heart  of  Spain  as  dauntless  and  genuine  a  representa- 
tive of  her  country's  genius.  Each  passed  through 
great  storm  and  stress  of  the  spirit,  and  finally  en- 
tered into  that  closer  communion  with  God,  from 
which  the  soul  emerges  miraculously  strengthened. 
Do  not  these  bleak  hills,  this  stern  but  lovely  Cathe- 
dral, rising  per  aspera  ad  astra,  typify  the  strong 
soul  of  Santa  Teresa?  A  great  psychologist  of  our 
day  finds  the  woman  in  her  admirable  literary  style. 
Prof.  James  further  accepts  Saint  Teresa's  own  de- 
fense of  her  visions:  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them."  These  were  practical,  brave,  cheerful,  as- 
piring, like  this  Castilian  sanctuary,  intolerant  of 
dissenters,  sheltering  and  caring  for  many,  and  lead- 
ing them  upward  to  the  City  which  is  unseen,  eternal 
in  the  heavens. 


IV 
LEON 


CATHEDRAL  OF  LEON 
rrom  the  southwest 


IV 

LEON 

Look  where  the  flood  of  western  glory  falls 
Through  the  great  sunflower  disk  of  blazing  panes 
In  ruby,  saffron,  azure,  emerald  stains.  ■ 

Holmes. 

IN  the  year  1008  the  ancient  church  of  Leon  wit- 
nessed a  ceremony  memorable  for  more  reasons 
than  one.  It  was  conducted  throughout  according 
to  Gothic  customs,  King,  Queen,  nobility  and  eccle- 
siastics all  being  present,  and  it  was  the  first  council 
held  in  Spain  since  the  Arab  conquest  whose  acts 
have  come  down  to  us.  The  object  was  twofold :  to 
hold  a  joyous  festival  in  celebration  of  the  rebuilding 
of  the  city  walls,  which  had  been  broken  down  some 
years  before  by  a  Moslem  army,  and  to  draw  up  a 
charter  for  a  free  people,  governing  themselves,  for 
Spain  has  the  proud  distinction  of  granting  munici- 
pal charters  one  or  two  hundred  years  before  the  other 
countries  of  Europe.  For  three  centuries  of  Gothic 
rule,  the  kings  of  Leon,  Castile  and  other  provinces 
had  successfully  resisted  every  attempt  at  encroach- 
ment from  the  Holy  See  and,  in  sessiofi  with  the 
clergy,  elected  their  own  bishops,  until  in  1085 
Alfonso  VI  of  Castile  takes  the  fatal  step  of  sending 
Bernard  d'Azeu  to  receive  the  pallium  and  investi- 
ture as  Bishop  of  Toledo  from  the  hands  of  Greg- 
ory VII.    From  this  time  forth,  kings  are  crowned. 


02  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN] 

queens  repudiated,  and  even  the  hallowed  Gothic 
or  Mozarabic  ritual  is  set  aside  for  that  of  Rome  by 
order  of  popes. 

In  1135  Santa  Maria  of  Leon  is  the  scene  of  a  gor- 
geous pageant.  An  Alfonso,  becoming  master  of  half 
Spain  and  quarter  of  France,  thinks  he  might  be 
called  Emperor  as  well  as  some  others,  and  within 
the  Cathedral  walls  he  receives  the  new  title  in  the 
presence  of  countless  ecclesiastics  and  *'all  his  vassals, 
great  and  small."  The  monarch's  robe  was  of  mar- 
velous work,  and  a  crown  of  pure  gold  set  with  pre- 
cious stones  was  placed  on  his  head,  while  the  King 
of  Navarre  held  his  right  hand  and  the  Bishop  of 
Leon  his  left.  Feastings  and  donations  followed,  but, 
what  was  of  vastly  more  importance,  the  new  Em- 
peror confirmed  the  charters  granted  to  various  cities 
by  his  grandfather. 

Again  a  great  ceremony  fills  the  old  church.  Fer- 
dinand, later  known  as  the  Saint,  is  baptized  there  in 
1199.  A  year  or  two  later.  Innocent  III  declares 
void  the  marriage  of  his  father  and  mother,  who  were 
cousins,  and  an  interdict  shrouds  the  land  in  darkness. 
Several  years  pass  during  which  the  Pope  turns  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  entreaties  of  a  devoted  husband,  the 
King  of  Leon,  to  their  children's  claim,  the  interces- 
sion of  Spanish  prelates,  and  the  prayers  of  two  na- 
tions who  had  good  cause  to  rejoice  in  the  union  of 
Leon  and  Castile.  Then  a  victim  of  the  yoke,  which 
Spain  had  voluntarily  put  on  while  Frederic  of  Ger- 
many and  even  Saint  Louis  of  France  were  defending 
their  rights  against  the  aggressions  of  the  Holy  See, 
the  good  Queen  Berenzuela,  sadly  took  her  way  back 
to  her  father's  home,  to  the  King  of  Castile. 


LEON  «8 

His  prerogative  once  established.  Innocent  III 
looked  well  after  his  obedient  subjects.  When  Spain 
was  threatened  by  the  most  formidable  of  all  Moor- 
ish invasions,  he  published  to  all  Christendom  a  bull 
of  crusade  against  the  Saracens,  and  sent  across  the 
Pyrenees  the  forces  which  had  been  gathering  in 
France  for  war  in  Palestine.  Rodrigo,  Archbishop  of 
Toledo,  preached  the  holy  war  and  led  his  troops,  in 
which  he  was  joined  by  the  bishops  of  Bordeaux, 
Nantes,  and  Narbonne  at  the  head  of  their  militia. 
Germany  and  Italy  sent  their  quota  of  knights  and 
soldiers  of  fortune,  and  this  concourse  of  Christian 
warriors,  speaking  innumerable  tongues,  poured 
through  mountain  defiles  and  ever  southward  till 
they  met  in  lofty  Toledo  and  camped  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tagus.  Marches,  skirmishes,  and  long-drawn- 
out  sieges  prelude  the  great  day.  The  hot  Spanish 
summer  sets  in,  the  foreigners,  growing  languid  in 
the  arid  stretches  of  La  Mancha,  and  disappointed  at 
the  slender  booty  meted  out  to  them,  desert  the  native 
army,  march  northwards  and  again  cross  the  Pyre- 
nees to  return  to  their  homes.  It  was  thus  left  to  the 
Spaniards,  led  by  three  kings  and  their  warlike  pre- 
lates, to  defeat  a  Moslem  army  of  half  a  million  and 
gain  the  glorious  victory  of  Las  Navas  de  Tolosa  on 
the  sixteenth  of  August,  1212. 

With  Rome's  firm  grasp  on  the  Spanish  Peninsula 
came  temples  no  less  beautiful  than  those  the  great 
Mother  Church  was  planting  in  every  portion  of  her 
dominion  north  of  the  Pyrenees,  —  Leon,  Burgos, 
Toledo  and  Valencia  rose  in  proud  challenge  to 
Amiens,  Rheims,  Beauvais  and  Chartres. 

Leon  may  be  called  French,  —  yes,  unquestion- 


94  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

ably  so,  but  that  is  no  detraction  or  denial  of  her 
native  "  gentileza."  She  may  be  the  very  embodiment 
of  French  planning,  her  general  dimensions  like  those 
of  Bourges;  her  portals  certainly  recall  those  of 
Chartres,  and  the  planning  of  her  apsidal  chapels, 
her  bases,  arches,  and  groining  ribs,  remind  one  of 
Amiens  and  Rheims;  but  nevertheless  this  exotic 
flower  blooms  as  gloriously  in  a  Spanish  desert  as 
those  that  sprang  up  amid  the  vineyards  or  in  the 
Garden  of  France. 

Leon  is  almost  as  old  as  the  history  of  Spain.  In 
the  first  century  after  Christ,  the  seventh  Roman 
legion,  on  the  order  of  Augustus,  pitched  their  tents 
where  the  city  now  stands,  built  their  customary  rect- 
angular enclosure  with  its  strong  walls  and  towers, 
happily  seconded  by  the  nature  of  the  surrounding 
country.  From  here  the  wild  hordes  of  the  Asturias 
could  be  kept  in  check.  The  city  was  narrowly  built 
in  the  fork  of  two  rivers,  on  ground  allowing  neither 
easy  approach  nor  expansion,  so  that  the  growth  has, 
even  up  to  the  twentieth  century,  been  within  the 
ancient  walls,  and  the  streets  and  squares  are  in  con- 
sequence narrow  and  cramped.  On  many  of  the  blocks 
of  those  old  walls  may  still  be  seen  carved  in  the  clear 
Roman  lettering,  "Legio  septima  gemina,  pia,  felix." 
The  name  of  Leon  is  merely  a  corruption  first  used 
by  the  Goths  of  the  Roman  "Legio."  Roman  domin- 
ion survived  the  empire  for  many  years,  being  first 
swept  away  when  the  Gothic  hordes  in  the  middle  of 
the  sixth  century  descended  from  the  north  under 
the  conqueror,  Loevgild.  Its  Christian  bishopric  was 
possibly  the  first  in  Spain,  founded  in  the  darkness 
of  the  third  century,  since  which  time  the  little  city 


KEY  OF  PLAN  OF  LEON  CATHEDRAL 


A.  Capilla  Mayor. 

B.  Choir. 

C.  Crossing. 

D.  Tombs. 


E.  Trascoro. 

F.  Towers. 

G.  Cloisters. 


LEON  95 

can  boast  an  unbroken  succession  of  Leonese  bish- 
ops, although  a  number,  during  the  turbulent  de- 
cades of  foreign  rule,  may  not  actually  have  been 
*'in  residence.*'  The  Moslem  followed  the  Goth,  and 
ruled  while  the  nascent  Christian  kingdom  of  the 
Asturias  was  slowly  gaining  strength  for  independ- 
ence and  the  foundation  of  an  episcopal  seat.  In  the 
middle  of  the  eighth  century,  the  Christians  wrested 
it  from  the  Moors.  On  the  site  of  the  old  Roman 
baths,  built  in  three  long  chambers.  King  Ordono 
II  erected  his  palace  (he  was  reconstructing  for  de- 
fense and  glory  the  walls  and  edifices  of  the  city) 
and  in  916  presented  it  with  considerable  ground  and 
several  adjacent  houses  to  Bishop  Frumonio,  that  he 
might  commence  the  building  of  the  Cathedral  on 
the  advantageous  palace  site  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 
Terrible  Moorish  invasions  occurred  soon  after,  in- 
volving considerable  damage  to  the  growing  Byzan- 
tine basilica.  In  996  the  Moors  swept  the  city  with 
fire  and  sword,  and  again,  three  years  later,  it  fell  en- 
tirely into  the  hands  of  the  great  conqueror  Almanzor, 
who  remained  in  possession  only  just  the  same  time, 
for  we  may  read  in  the  old  monkish  manuscripts 
that  in  1002  from  the  Christian  pulpits  of  Castile 
and  Leon  the  proclamation  was  made:  "Almanzor  is 
dead,  and  buried  in  Hell." 

Leon  could  boast  of  being  the  first  mediaeval  city 
of  Europe  to  obtain  self-government  and  a  charter 
of  her  own,  and  she  became  the  scene  of  important 
councils  during  the  eleventh,  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries.  In  the  eleventh  century,  under  the  great 
Ferdinand  I,  who  united  Castile  and  Leon,  work 
on  the  basilica  was  pushed  rapidly  forward.  French 


96  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

influence  was  predominant  in  the  early  building  op- 
erations, for  Alfonso  VI  of  Castile,  who  assumed  the 
title  of  Emperor  of  Spain,  had  two  French  wives, 
each  of  whom  brought  with  her  a  batch  of  zealous 
and  skillful  church-building  prelates. 

The  church  was  finally  consecrated  in  1149. 
About  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  Spanish  architect, 
D.  Demetrio  de  los  Rios,  in  charge  of  the  work  of 
restoration  on  the  present  Cathedral,  discovered  the 
walls  and  foundations  of  the  ancient  basilica  and  was 
able  to  determine  accurately  its  relation  to  the  later 
Gothic  church.  The  exact  date  when  this  was  begun 
is  uncertain,  —  many  writers  give  1199.  Beyond  a 
doubt  the  foundations  were  laid  out  during  the  reign 
of  Alfonso  IX,  early  in  the  thirteenth  century,  when 
Manrique  de  Lara  was  Bishop  of  the  See  of  Leon  and 
French  Gothic  construction  was  at  the  height  of  its 
glory.  It  is  thus  a  thirteenth-century  church,  be- 
longing principally  to  the  latter  part,  built  with  the 
feverish  energy,  popular  enthusiasm,  and  unparalleled 
genius  for  building  which  characterizes  that  period 
and  stamps  it  as  uniquely  glorious  to  later  construc- 
tive ages.  Though  smaller  than  most  of  the  immense 
churches  which  afterwards  rose  under  Spanish  skies, 
Leon  remained  in  many  respects  unsurpassed  and  un- 
matched. 

Sevilla  en  grandeza,  Toledo  en  riqueza, 
Compostella  en  fortaleza,  esta  en  sutileza 
Santa  Maria  de  Regla." 

In  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  after  the 
consecration  of  the  new  church,  a  famous  council  of 
all  the  bishops  of  the  realm  was  held  in  the  little  town 
of  Madrid,  and  there  the  faithful  were  exhorted,  and 


LEON  97 

the  lukewarm  admonished  with  threats,  to  contribute 
by  every  means  to  the  successful  erection  of  Leon's 
Cathedral.  Indulgences,  well  worth  consideration, 
were  granted  to  contributors,  at  the  head  of  whom 
for  a  liberal  sum  stood  the  king,  Alfonso  X. 

But  Leon,  capital  of  the  ancient  kingdom,  was 
doomed  before  long  to  feel  the  bitterness  of  aban- 
donment. The  Castilian  kings  followed  the  retreat 
southward  of  the  Moorish  armies,  and  the  history  of 
the  capital  of  Leon,  which,  during  the  thirteenth 
century,  had  been  the  history  of  the  little  kingdom, 
soon  became  confined  within  the  limits  of  her  cathe- 
dral walls.  Burgos,  a  mighty  rival,  soon  overshad- 
owed her.  The  time  came  when  the  Bishop  of  Leon 
was  merely  a  suffragan  of  the  Archbishop  of  Burgos, 
and  her  kings  had  moved  their  court  south  to  Seville. 
The  city  of  Leon  was  lost  in  the  union  of  the  two 
kingdoms. 

The  fortunes  of  the  Cathedral  have  been  varied 
and  her  reverses  great.  Her  architects  risked  a  great 
deal  and  the  disasters  entailed  were  proportionate. 
Though  belonging  preeminently  in  style  to  the  glo- 
rious thirteenth  century,  her  building  continued 
almost  uninterruptedly  throughout  the  fourteenth. 
We  have  in  succession  Maestro  Enrique,  Pedro 
Cebrian,  Simon,  Guillen  de  Rodan,  Alonzo  Valencia, 
Pedro  de  Medina,  and  Juan  de  Badajoz,  working  on 
her  walls  and  towers  with  a  magnificent  recklessness 
which  was  shortly  to  meet  its  punishment.  Although 
Bishop  Gonzalez  in  1303  declared  the  work,  "thanks 
be  to  God,  completed,"  it  was  but  started.  The 
south  f agade  was  completed  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
but  as  early  as  1630  the  light  fabric  began  to  tremble. 


98  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

then  the  vaulting  of  the  crossing  collapsed  and  was 
replaced  by  a  more  magnificent  dome.  Many  years 
of  mutilations  and  disasters  succeeded.  The  south 
front  was  entirely  taken  down  and  rebuilt,  the  vault- 
ing of  aisles  fell,  great  portions  of  the  main  western 
fagade,  and  ornamentation  here  and  there  was  dis- 
figured or  destroyed  by  the  later  alterations  in  over- 
confident and  decadent  times,  until,  in  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  very  considerable  portions 
of  the  original  rash  and  exquisite  fabric  were  prac- 
tically ruined.  There  came,  however,  an  awakening 
to  the  outrages  which  had  been  committed,  and  from 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  the  present 
day,  the  work  of  putting  back  the  stones  in  their 
original  forms  and  places  has  steadily  advanced  to  the 
honor  of  Leon  and  glory  of  Spain,  until  Santa  Maria 
de  Regla  at  last  stands  once  more  in  the  full  pristine 
lightness  of  her  original  beauty. 

The  plan  of  Leon  is  exceedingly  fine,  surpassed 
alone  among  Spanish  churches  by  that  of  Toledo. 
Three  doorways  lead  through  the  magnificent  west- 
ern portal  into  the  nave  and  side  aisles  of  the  Church. 
These  consist  of  five  bays  up  to  the  point  where  the 
huge  arms  of  the  transept  spread  by  the  width  of  an 
additional  bay.  In  proportion  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  these  arms  are  broader  than  in  any  other  Span- 
ish cathedral.  They  are  four  bays  in  length,  the  one 
under  the  central  lantern  being  twice  the  width  of  the 
others,  thus  making  the  total  width  of  the  transepts 
equal  to  the  distance  from  the  western  entrance  to 
their  intersection.  The  choir  occupies  the  fifth  and 
sixth  bays  of  the  nave.  To  the  south,  the  transept  is 
entered  by  a  triple  portal  very  similar  in  scale  and 


CATHEDRAL  OF  LEON 
Looking  up  the  nave 


LEON  99 

richness  to  the  western.  The  eastern  termination  of 
the  church  is  formed  by  a  choir  of  three  and  an  am- 
bulatory of  five  bays  running  back  of  the  altar  and 
trascoro,  and  five  pentagonal  apsidal  chapels.  The 
sacristy  juts  out  in  the  extreme  southwestern  angle. 
The  northern  arm  of  the  huge  transepts  is  separated 
from  the  extensive  cloisters  by  a  row  of  chapels  or 
vestibules  which  to  the  east  also  lead  to  the  great 
Chapel  of  Santiago.  All  along  its  eastern  lines  the 
church  with  its  dependencies  projects  beyond  the 
city  walls,  one  of  its  massive  towers  standing  as  a 
mighty  bulwark  of  defense  in  the  extreme  north- 
eastern angle. 

It  is  a  plan  that  must  delight  not  only  the  archi- 
tect, but  any  casual  observer,  in  its  almost  perfect 
symmetry  and  in  the  relationship  of  its  various  parts 
to  each  other.  It  belonged  to  the  primitive  period 
of  French  Gothic,  though  carried  out  in  later  days 
when  its  vigor  was  waning.  It  has  not  been  cramped 
nor  distorted  by  initial  limitation  of  space  or  condi- 
tions, nor  injured  by  later  deviations  from  the  ori- 
ginal conception.  It  is  worthy  of  the  great  masters 
who  planned  once  for  all  the  loveliest  and  most  ex- 
pressive house  for  the  worship  of  God.  Erected  on 
the  plains  of  Leon,  it  was  conceived  in  the  inspired 
provinces  of  Champagne  and  the  Isle  de  France. 

It  has  a  total  length  of  some  308  feet  and  a  width 
of  nave  and  aisles  of  83.  The  height  to  the  centre  of 
nave  groining  is  100  feet.  The  western  front  has  two 
towers,  which,  curiously  enough,  as  in  Wells  Cathe- 
dral, flank  the  side  aisles,  thus  necessitating  in  eleva- 
tion a  union  with  the  upper  portions  of  the  fagade 
by  means  of  flying  buttresses. 


100  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

There  is  a  fine  view  of  the  exterior  of  the  church 
from  across  the  square  facing  the  southwestern  angle. 
A  row  of  acacia  plumes  and  a  meaningless,  eighteenth- 
century  iron  fence  conceal  the  marble  paving  round 
the  base,  but  this  foreground  sinks  to  insignificance 
against  the  soaring  masses  of  stone  towers  and  turrets, 
buttresses  and  pediments,  stretching  north  and  east. 
Both  fagades  have  been  considerably  restored,  the 
later  Renaissance  and  Baroque  atrocities  having  been 
swept  away  in  a  more  refined  and  sensitive  age,  when 
the  portions  of  masonry  which  fell,  owing  to  the  flimsi- 
ness  of  the  fabric,  were  rebuilt.  The  result  has,  how- 
ever, been  that  great  portions,  as  for  instance  in  the 
western  front  and  the  entire  central  body  above  the 
portals,  jar,  with  the  chalky  whiteness  of  their  surfaces 
by  the  side  of  the  time-worn  masonry.  They  lack 
the  exquisite  harmony  of  tints,  where  wind  and  sun 
and  water  have  swept  and  splashed  the  masonry 
for  centuries. 

The  two  towers  that  flank  the  western  front  in  so 
disjointed  a  manner  are  of  different  heights  and  ages. 
Both  have  a  heavy,  lumbering  quality  entirely  out  of 
keeping  with  the  aerial  lightness  of  the  remainder  of 
the  church.  It  is  not  quite  coarseness,  but  rather  a 
stiff-necked,  pompous  gravity.  Their  moldings  lack 
vigor  and  sparkle.  The  play  of  fancy  and  sensitive 
decorative  treatment  are  wanting.  The  northern 
tower  is  the  older  and  has  an  upper  portion  penetrated 
by  a  double  row  of  round  and  early  pointed  windows. 
An  unbroken  octagonal  spire  crowns  it,  the  angles  of 
the  intersection  being  filled  by  turrets,  as  uninterest- 
ing as  Prussian  sentry-boxes.  The  southern  tower, 
though  lighter  and  more  ornamented,  has,  like  its 


LEON  101 

sister,  extremely  bald  lower  surfaces,  the  four  angles 
in  both  cases  being  merely  broken  by  projecting 
buttresses.  The  lowest  story  was  completed  in  the 
fourteenth  century.  It  was  added  to  in  successive 
centuries  by  Maestro  Jusquin  and  Alfonso  Ramos, 
but  its  great  open-work  spire,  of  decided  German 
form,  probably  much  influenced  by  Colonia's  spires 
at  Burgos,  was  first  raised  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

It  is  a  complete  monotonous  lacework  of  stone,  not 
nearly  as  spirited  as  similar,  earlier,  French  work. 
The  spire  is  separated  from  the  bald  base  by  a  two- 
storied  belfry,  with  two  superimposed  openings  on 
each  surface.  Gothic  inscriptions  decorate  the  ma- 
sonry and  the  huge  black  letters  spell  out  *'Deus 
Homo  —  Ave  Maria,  Gratia  plena.'* 

At  the  base,  between  these  huge,  grave  sentinels, 
stands  the  magnificent  old  portico  with  the  modern 
facing  of  the  main  body  of  the  church  above  it. 
This  screen  of  later  days,  built  after  the  removal  of 
a  hideously  out-of -keeping  Renaissance  front,  is  con- 
tained within  two  buttresses  which  meet  the  great 
flying  ones.  In  fact,  looking  down  the  stone  gorge 
between  these  buttresses  and  the  towers,  one  sees 
a  mass  of  pushing  and  propping  flying  buttresses 
springing  in  double  rows  above  the  roof  of  the  side 
aisles  towards  the  clerestories  of  the  nave.  The  screen 
itself  contains,  immediately  above  the  portico,  an  ar- 
cade of  four  subdivided  arches,  corresponding  to  the 
trif orium,  and  above  it  a  gorgeous  rose  window.  It  is 
the  best  type  of  late  thirteenth  or  early  fourteenth 
century  wheel  of  radial  system,  very  similar  in  de- 
sign to  the  western  wheel  of  Notre  Dame  de  Paris 
and  the  great  western  one  of  Burgos.    Springing 


102  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

suddenly  into  being  in  all  its  developed  perfection,  it 
can  only  be  regarded  as  a  direct  importation  from  the 
Isle  de  France.  The  ribs  of  the  outer  circle  are  twice 
as  many  as  those  of  the  inner,  thus  dividing  the  glass 
surfaces  into  approximately  equal  breadth  of  fields. 
This  and  the  rose  of  the  southern  transept  are  similar, 
and  both  are  copies  of  the  original  one  still  extant  in 
the  north  transept.  A  fine  cornice  and  open-work 
gallery  surmount  the  composition,  flanked  by  crock- 
eted  turrets  and  crowned  in  the  centre  by  a  pedi- 
ment injurious  in  effect  and  of  Italian  Renaissance 
inspiration.  The  gable  field  is  broken  by  a  smaller 
wheel,  and  in  an  ogival  niche  are  statues  of  the  An- 
nunciation. 

The  portico  is  the  most  truly  splendid  part  of  the 
Cathedral.  Erected  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
or  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  much  of  its 
Gothic  sculpture  is  unsurpassed  in  Spain.  A  perfect 
museum  of  art  and  a  history  in  magnificent  carving. 
The  composition  as  a  whole  recalls  again  unquestion- 
ably Chartres.  It  consists  of  three  recessed  arches 
hooding  with  deep  splays  the  three  doorways  which 
lead  into  nave  and  side  aisles.  Between  the  major 
arches  are  two  smaller,  extremely  pointed  ones,  the 
most  northerly  of  which  encases  an  ancient  columnar 
shaft  decorated  with  the  arms  of  Leon  and  bearing  the 
inscription,  "locus  appellationis."  Beneath  it  court 
was  long  held  and  justice  administered  by  the  rulers 
of  Leon  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

The  arches  of  the  porches  are  supported  by  piers, 
completely  broken  and  surrounded  by  columnar 
shafts  and  niches  carrying  statues  on  their  corbels. 
These  piers  stand  out  free  from  the  jambs  of  the  doors 


LEON  lOS 

and  wall  surfaces  behind,  and  thus  form  an  open  gal- 
lery between  the  two.  Around  and  over  all  is  an 
astounding  and  lavish  profusion  of  sculpture,  —  no 
less  than  forty  statues.  The  jambs  and  splays,  the 
shafts,  the  archivolts,  the  moldings  and  tympanums 
are  covered  with  carving,  varied  and  singularly  in- 
teresting in  the  diversity  of  its  period  and  character. 
Part  of  it  is  late  Byzantine  with  the  traditions  of  the 
twelfth  century,  while  much  is  from  the  very  best 
vigorous  Gothic  chisels,  and  yet  some,  later  Gothic. 
Certain  borders,  leafage,  and  vine  branches  are  By- 
zantine, and  so  also  are  some  of  the  statues,  "retain- 
ing the  shapeless  proportions  and  the  immobihty  and 
parched  frown  of  the  Byzantine  School,  so  perfectly 
dead  in  its  expression,  offering,  however,  by  its  garb 
and  by  its  contours  not  a  little  to  the  study  of  this 
art,  and  so  constituting  a  precious  museum."  Again, 
other  statues  have  the  mild  and  venerable  aspect  of 
the  second  period  of  Gothic  work.  The  oldest  are 
round  the  most  northerly  of  the  three  doorways. 
Every  walk  of  life  is  represented.  There  is  a  gallery 
of  costumes;  and  most  varying  emotions  are  depicted 
in  the  countenances  of  the  kings  and  queens,  monks 
and  virgins,  prelates,  saints,  angels,  and  bishops. 
Separating  the  two  leaves  of  the  main  doorway, 
stands  Our  White  Lady.  But  if  the  statues  are  inter- 
esting, the  sculpture  of  the  archivolts  and  the  per- 
sonages and  scenes  carved  on  the  fields  of  the  tym- 
panums far  surpass  them. 

Mrs.  Wharton  says  somewhere,  "All  northern  art 
is  anecdotic,  —  it  is  an  ancient  ethnological  fact 
that  the  Goth  has  always  told  his  story  that  way." 
Nothing  could  be  more  "anecdotic"  than  this  sculp- 


104  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

ture.  The  northern  tympanum  gives  scenes  from 
the  Life  of  Christ,  the  Visitation,  the  Nativity,  the 
Adoration  of  the  Magi,  and  the  Flight  into  Egypt. 
In  the  southern,  are  events  from  the  Hfe  of  the  Virgin 
Mary;  but  the  central  one,  and  the  archi volts  sur- 
rounding it,  contain  the  most  spirited  bits.  The 
scene  is  the  Last  Judgment,  with  Christ  as  the  central 
figure.  Servants  of  the  Church  of  various  degrees  are 
standing  "on  one  side  with  expressions  of  beatitude 
nowise  clouded  by  the  fate  of  the  miserable  repro- 
bates on  the  other.  In  the  archivolts  angels  ascend 
with  instruments  and  spreading  wings,  embracing 
monks  or  gathering  orphans  into  their  bosoms,  while 
the  lost  with  horrid  grimaces  are  descending  to  their 
inevitable  doom.  Not  even  the  great  Florentine 
could  depict  more  realistically  the  feelings  of  such  as 
had  sinned  grievously  in  this  world. 

The  long  southern  side  of  the  church  has  for  its 
governing  feature  the  wide  transept  termination, 
which  in  its  triple  portal,  triforium  arcade,  and  rose 
is  practically  a  repetition  of  the  west.  The  central 
body  is  all  restored.  The  original,  magnificent  old 
statues  and  carving  have,  however,  been  set  back  in 
the  new  casings  around  and  above  the  main  entrance. 
An  old  Leonese  bishop,  San  Triolan,  occupies  in  the 
central  door  the  same  position  as  "Our  White  Lady'* 
to  the  west,  while  the  Saviour  between  the  Four 
Evangelists  is  enthroned  in  the  tympanum. 

One  obtains  a  most  interesting  study  in  construc- 
tion by  standing  behind  the  great  polygonal  apse, 
whence  one  may  see  the  double  rows  of  flying  but- 
tresses pushing  with  the  whole  might  of  the  solid 
piers  behind  them  against  the  narrow  strips  of  ma- 


CATIUIUKAL  OF  LEUN 
Rear  of  apse 


LEON  105 

sonry  at  the  angles  of  the  choir.  From  every  buttress 
rise  elegantly  carved  and  crocketed  finials.  Mar- 
shalled against  the  cobalt  of  the  skies,  they  body 
forth  an  array  of  shining  lances  borne  by  a  heavenly 
host.  The  balconies,  forming  the  cresting  to  the  ex- 
cessively high  clerestory,  are  entirely  Renaissance 
in  feeling,  and  lack  in  their  horizontal  lines  the  up- 
ward spring  of  the  church  below.  Almost  all  of  this 
eastern  end,  breaking  through  the  city  walls,  is,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  the  roof,  part  of  the  fine  old 
structure,  in  contrast  to  the  adjoining  Plateresque 
sacristy. 

It  is  generally  from  the  outside  of  French  cathe- 
drals that  one  receives  the  most  vivid  impressions. 
Though  the  mind  may  be  overcome  by  a  feeling  of 
superhuman  effort  on  entering  the  portals  of  Notre 
Dame  de  Paris,  yet  the  emotion  produced  by  the  first 
sight  of  the  queenly,  celestial  edifice  from  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  broad  square  is  the  more  powerful  and 
eloquent.  Not  so  in  Spain,  —  and  this  in  spite  of  the 
location  of  the  choirs.  It  is  not  until  you  enter  a 
Spanish  church  that  its  power  and  beauty  are  felt* 

The  audacious  construction  of  Leon,  which  one 
wonders  at  from  the  square  outside,  becomes  well- 
nigh  incredible  when  seen  from  the  nave.  How  is  it 
possible  that  glass  can  support  such  a  weight  of  stone? 
If  Burgos  was  bold,  this  is  insane.  It  looks  as  un- 
stable as  a  house  of  cards,  ready  for  a  collapse  at  the 
first  gentle  breeze.  Can  fields  of  glass  sustain  three 
hundred  feet  of  thrusts  and  such  weights  of  stone? 
It  is  a  culmination  of  the  daring  of  Spanish  Gothic. 
In  France  there  was  this  difference,  —  while  the 
fields  of  glass  continued  to  grow  larger  and  larger,  the 


106  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

walls  to  diminish,  and  the  piers  to  become  slenderer, 
the  aid  of  a  more  perfectly  developed  system  of 
counterthrusts  to  the  vaulting  was  called  in.  In 
Spain  we  reach  the  maximum  of  elimination  in  the 
masonry  of  the  side  walls  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  in  the  Cathedral  of  Leon,  whereas  later 
Gothic  work,  as  in  portions  of  Burgos  and  Toledo, 
shows  a  sense  of  the  futile  exaggeration  towards  which 
they  were  drifting,  as  well  as  the  impracticability  of 
so  much  glass  from  a  climatic  point  of  view. 

Internally,  Leon  is  the  lightest  and  most  cheerful 
church  in  Spain.  The  great  doorways  of  the  western 
and  southern  fronts,  as  well  as  that  to  the  north  lead- 
ing into  the  cloisters,  are  thrown  wide  open,  as  if  to 
add  to  the  joyousness  of  the  temple.  Every  portion 
of  it  is  flooded  with  sweet  sunlight  and  freshness.  It 
is  the  church  of  cleanliness,  of  light  and  fresh  air, 
and  above  all,  of  glorious  color.  The  glaziers  might 
have  said  with  Isaiah,  "And  I  will  make  thy  windows 
of  agates  and  thy  gates  of  carbuncles,  and  all  thy 
borders  of  pleasant  stones."  The  entire  walls  are 
a  continuous  series  of  divine  rainbows. 

The  side  walls  of  the  aisles  for  a  height  of  some 
fourteen  feet  to  the  bottom  of  their  vaulting  ribs,  the 
triforium,  commencing  but  a  foot  above  the  arches 
which  separate  nave  from  side  aisles,  and  immedi- 
ately above  the  triforium,  forty  feet  of  clerestory,  — 
all  is  glass,  emerald,  turquoise,  and  peacock,  amber, 
straw,  scarlet,  and  crimson,  encased  in  a  most  deli- 
cate, strangely  reckless,  and  bold-traceried  framework 
of  stained  ivory.  Indeed,  the  jeweled  portals  of  Heaven 
are  wide  open  when  the  sun  throws  all  the  colors  from 
above  across,  the  otherwise  colorless  fields  of  the  pave- 


LEON  107 

ment.  "The  color  of  love's  blood  within  them  glows." 
There  is  glazing  of  many  centuries  and  all  styles. 
In  some  of  the  triforium  windows  are  bits  of  glass, 
which,  after  the  destruction  or  falling  of  the  old  win- 
dows, were  carefully  collected,  put  together,  and  used 
again  in  the  reglazing.  Some  of  it  is  of  the  earliest 
in  Spain,  probably  set  by  French,  Flemish,  or  German 
artisans  who  had  immigrated  to  practise  their  art  and 
set  up  their  factories  on  Spanish  soil  adjacent  to  the 
stone-carvers'  and  masons'  sheds  under  the  rising 
walls  of  the  great  churches.  Like  all  skilled  artisans 
of  their  age,  the  secret  of  their  trade,  the  proper  fusing 
of  the  silica  with  the  alkalies,  was  carefully  guarded 
and  handed  down  from  father  to  son  or  master  to  ap- 
prentice. They  were  chemists,  glaziers,  artists,  color- 
ists,  and  glass  manufacturers,  all  in  one.  The  heritage 
was  passed  on  in  those  days,  when  the  great  key  of 
science  which  opens  all  portals  had  not  yet  become 
common  property.  Some  of  the  oldest  glass  is  merely 
a  crude  mosaic  inlay  of  small  bits  and  must  date  back 
to  early  thirteenth  century.  Coloring  glass  by  partial 
fusion  was  then  first  practised  and  soon  followed  by  the 
introduction  of  figures  and  themes  in  the  glass,  and  the 
acquisition  of  a  lovely,  homogeneous  opalescence  in 
place  of  the  purely  geometrical  patterns.  Scriptural 
scenes  or  figures  painted,  as  the  Spanish  say,  "en 
caballete,"  became  more  and  more  general.  The  best 
of  the  Leon  windows  are  from  the  fifteenth  century, 
when  the  glaziers'  shops  in  the  city  worked  under  the 
direction  of  Juan  de  Arge,  Maestro  Baldwin,  and 
Rodrigo  de  Ferraras,  and  its  master  colorists  were  at 
work  glazing  the  windows  of  the  Capilla  Mayor,  the 
Capilla  de  Santiago,  and  a  portion  of  those  of  the 


108  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

north  transept.  "Ces  vitreaux  hauts  en  couleur,  qui 
faisaient  hesiter  Toeil  emerveille  de  nos  peres  entre  la 
rose  du  grand  portail  et  les  ogives  de  I'abside."  The 
glazing  has  gone  on  through  centuries;  even  to-day 
the  glaziers  at  Leon  are  busy  in  their  shops,  making 
the  sheets  of  sunset  glow  for  their  own  and  other 
Spanish  cathedrals. 

In  some  of  the  side  aisles,  they  have,  alas,  during 
recent  decades  placed  some  horrible  *' grisaille"  and 
geometrically  patterned  windows,  —  in  frightful  con- 
trast to  the  delightful  thirteenth-century  legends  of 
Saint  Clement  and  Saint  Ildefonso,  or  that  most  ab- 
sorbing record  of  civic  life  depicted  in  the  northern 
aisle.  In  studying  the  windows  of  Leon,  Lamperez 
y  Romea's  observations  on  Spanish  glazing  are  of 
interest:  "In  the  fourteenth  century  the  rules  of 
glazing  in  Spain  were  changed.  Legends  had  fallen 
into  disuse  and  the  masters  had  learned  that,  in  the 
windows  of  the  high  nave,  small  medallions  could  not 
be  properly  appreciated.  They  were  then  replaced  by 
large  figures,  isolated  or  in  groups,  but  always  one  by 
one  in  the  spaces  determined  by  the  tracery.  The 
coloring  remained  strong  and  vivid.  The  study  of 
nature,  which  had  so  greatly  developed  in  painting  and 
in  sculpture,  altered  the  drawing  little  by  little,  the 
figures  became  more  modeled  and  lifelike,  and  were 
carried  out  with  more  detail.  At  the  same  time  the 
coloring  changed  by  the  use  of  neutral  tints,  violet, 
brown,  light  blues,  rose,  etc.  Many  of  the  old  win- 
dows are  of  this  style.  And  so  are  the  majority  of  the 
windows  of  Avila,  Leon,  and  Toledo,  as  it  lasted  in 
Spain  throughout  the  fifteenth  century,  and  others 
which  preserve  the  composition  of  great  figures  and 


LEON  109 

strong  coloring, although  there  maybe  noticed  in  the 
drawings  greater  naturalism  and  modeling." 

These  rules  differed  slightly  from  those  followed 
in  France,  where,  with  the  exception  of  certain 
churches  in  the  east,  the  windows  of  the  thirteenth 
century  were  richer  in  decoration,  more  luscious  in 
coloring  and  more  harmonious  in  their  tones  than 
those  of  the  fourteenth.  There  is  little  in  this  later 
century  that  can  compare  with  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury series  of  Chartres  figures. 

The  Leonese  windows  are  perhaps  loveliest  late  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  saints  and  churchmen  seem 
to  be  entering  the  church  through  their  black-traceried 
portals,  and,  clad  in  heavenly  raiment,  about  to  de- 
scend to  the  pavement,  — 

As  softly  green. 

As  softly  seen. 

Through  purest  crystal  gleaming, ' 

there  to  people  the  aisles  and  keep  vigil  at  the  altars 
of  God  to  the  coming  of  another  day. 

There  are,  fortunately,  scarcely  any  other  colors  or 
decorations,  —  or  altars  off  side  aisles,  —  that  might 
divert  the  attention  from  the  richness  of  glass.  The 
various  vaulting  has  the  jointing  of  its  stonework 
strongly  marked,  but,  with  the  exception  of  the 
slightly  gilded  bosses,  no  color  is  applied.  The  glory 
of  the  glass  is  thus  enhanced.  Owing  to  the  great 
portions  of  masonry  which  have  been  rebuilt,  this 
varies  in  its  tints,  but  the  old  was,  and  has  remained, 
of  such  an  exquisitely  delicate  creamy  color  that  the 
new  interposed  stonework  merely  looks  like  a  lighter, 
fresher  shade  of  the  old.  The  restoration  has  been 
executed  with  rare  skill  and  artistic  feeling. 


110  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

In  studying  the  inner  organism  and  structure  of 
the  edifice,  one  soon  sees  how  recklessly  the  original 
fabric  was  constructed  and  in  how  many  places  it  had 
to  be  rebuilt,  strengthened  and  propped, —  indeed, 
immediately  after  its  completion.  Here,  as  was  the 
general  custom  in  the  greater  early  Gothic  cathedrals, 
the  building  began  with  the  choir  and  Capilla  Mayor, 
to  be  followed  by  the  transepts,  the  portions  of  the 
edifice  essential  to  the  service.  The  choir  was  probably 
temporarily  roofed  over  and  the  nave  and  side  aisles 
followed.  The  exterior  fagades,  portals,  and  upper 
stories  of  the  towers  were  carried  out  last  of  all  by  the 
aid  of  indulgences,  contributions,  alms  and  conces- 
sions. 

In  old  manuscripts  and  documents  which  record 
the  very  first  work  on  the  cathedrals  we  find  the  one 
in  charge  called  "Maestro,"  —  or  magister  operisy 
magister  ecclesiae^  magister  fabricae,  but  not  till  the 
sixteenth  century  does  the  appellation  "arquitecto" 
appear.  His  pay  seems  to  have  varied,  both  in 
amount  and  in  form  of  emolument,  —  sometimes 
it  was  good  hard  cash,  often  a  very  poor  or  dubious 
remuneration,  handed  out  consequently  with  a  more 
lavish  hand;  sometimes  grants,  and  again  royal 
favor.  Generally  the  architect  entered  into  a  stipu- 
lated agreement  with  the  Cathedral  Chapter,  both 
as  to  his  time  and  services,  before  he  began  his  work. 
We  find  Master  Jusquin  (1450-69)  receiving  from  the 
Chapter  of  Leon  not  only  a  daily  salary  but  also 
annual  donations  of  bushels  of  wheat,  pairs  of  gloves, 
lodgings,  poultry,  other  supplies,  and  the  use  of 
certain  workmen. 

Leon's  unquestionable  French  parentage  is,  if  pos- 


LEON  111 

sible,  even  more  obvious  in  the  interior  than  in  the 
exterior.  The  piers  between  nave  and  side  aisles  are 
cylindrical  in  plan,  having  in  their  lowest  section  on 
their  front  surface  three  columns  grouped  together 
that  continue  straight  up  through  trif orium  and  clere- 
story and  carry  the  transverse  and  diagonal  ribs  of 
the  nave.  They  have  further  one  column  on  each 
side  of  the  axis  east  and  west  and,  strange  to  say,  only 
one  toward  the  side  aisles,  which  thus  lack  continuous 
supports  for  their  diagonal  ribs.  The  outer  walls  of 
the  side  aisles  are  formed  by  a  blind  arcade  of  five 
arches,  surmounted  by  a  projecting  balcony  or  cor- 
ridor and  a  clerestory  subdivided  by  its  tracery  into 
four  arches  and  three  cusped  circles.  The  nave  tri- 
forium  consists  of  a  double  arcade  with  a  gallery 
running  between  (one  of  the  very  rare  examples  in 
Spain).  Each  bay  has  in  the  trif  orium  four  open  and 
two  closed  arches,  surmounted  by  two  quatrefoils. 
The  clerestory  rises  above,  divided  by  marvelously 
slender  shafts  into  six  compartments  and  three  cusped 
circles  in  the  apex  of  the  arch.  Here  shine,  in  dazzling 
raiment  and  with  ecstatic  expressions,  the  saints  and 
martyrs  ordered  in  the  fifteenth  century  from  Burgos 
for  the  sum  of  20,000  maravedis. 

Throughout  all  the  glazed  wall  surfaces  we  find 
evidence  of  the  anxiety  that  overtook  their  reckless 
projectors.  All  but  the  upper  cusps  of  the  windows 
of  the  side  aisles  have  been  filled  in  by  masonry, 
painted  with  saints  and  evangelists  in  place  of  the 
translucent  ones  originally  placed  here.  The  lower 
portions  of  the  triforium  lights  have  been  blocked 
up  and  also  the  two  outer  arches  of  the  clerestory. 
The  light,  clustered  piers  and  slender,  double  flying 


11«  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

buttresses  could  not  accomplish  the  gigantic  task  of 
supporting  the  great  height  above.  Nor  could  the  in- 
genious strengthening  of  the  stone  walls  (consisting 
of  ashlar  inside  and  out,  facing  intermediate  rubble) 
by  iron  clamps  supply  the  requisite  firmness. 

It  seems  doubly  unfortunate  that  the  choir  stalls 
should  occupy  the  position  they  do  here,  when  there 
is  such  liberal  space  in  the  three  bays  east  of  the 
crossing  in  front  of  the  altar.  The  stone  of  their  ex- 
terior backing  is  cold  and  gray  beside  the  ochre 
warmth  of  the  surrounding  piers.  The  classic  Plater- 
esque  statues  and  bas-reliefs,  as  well  as  the  exquisitely 
carved,  Florentine  decoration,  seems  strangely  out  of 
place  under  the  Gothic  loveliness  above.  The  tras- 
coro  itself  is  warmer  in  color,  but  of  the  extrava- 
gant later  period.  Its  pilasters,  spandrels,  and  band 
courses  are  filled  with  elaborate  and  fine  Florentine 
ornamentation,  while  the  niches  themselves,  with  high 
reliefs  representing  the  Annunciation,  the  Nativity, 
and  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  are  not  quite  free 
from  a  certain  Gothic  feeling.  Above,  great  statues 
of  Church  Fathers  weigh  heavily  on  the  delicate  work 
and  smaller  scale  below. 

The  carving  of  the  double  tier  of  walnut  choir  stalls 
is  at  once  restrained  and  rich.  Beautiful  Gothic 
tracery  surmounts  in  both  tiers  the  figures  that  fill 
the  panels  above  the  seats.  Below  are  characters 
from  the  Old  Testament, — Daniel,  Jeremiah,  Abel, 
David  busily  playing  his  harp,  Joshua  "Dux  Isri," 
Moses  with  splendid  big  horns  and  tablets,  Tobias 
with  his  little  fish  slit  up  the  belly.  Above  stand 
firmly  full-length  figures  of  the  Apostles  and  saints. 
With  the  exception  of  some  of  the  work  near  the  en- 


LEON  113 

trance,  which  is  practically  Renaissance  in  feeling, 
all  this  carving  is  late  Gothic  from  the  last  part  of  the 
fifteenth  century  and  executed  by  the  masters  Fa- 
drique,  John  of  Malines,  and  Rodrigo  Aleman.  Two 
of  the  stalls,  more  elevated  and  pronounced  than 
the  rest,  are  for  the  hereditary  canons  of  the  Cathe- 
dral, the  King  of  Leon  and  the  Marquis  of  Astorga. 
Excellent  as  they  are,  these  stalls  are  not  nearly  so 
rich  in  design  nor  beautiful  in  execution  as  the  Italian 
Renaissance  choir  stalls,  in  the  Convent  of  San  Mar- 
cos directly  outside  the  city  walls,  carved  some  dec- 
ades later  by  the  Magister  Guillielmo  Dosel. 

The  crossing  is  splendidly  broad,  the  transepts 
appearing,  as  one  glances  north  and  south,  as  much 
the  main  arms  of  the  cross  as  do  the  nave  and  choir. 
The  southern  arm  is  quite  new,  having  been  com- 
pletely rebuilt  by  D.  Juan  Madrazo  and  D.  Demetrio 
Amador  de  los  Rios.  The  glazing  of  its  window  and 
the  arabesques  cannot  be  compared  to  those  of  the 
original  fabric  in  the  northern  arm.  The  four  piers 
of  the  crossing,  though  slender  and  graceful,  carry 
full,  logical  complements  of  shafts  for  the  support 
of  the  various  vaulting  ribs,  intersecting  at  their 
apexes. 

The  retablo  above  the  high  altar  is  in  its  simplicity 
as  refreshing  as  the  light  and  sunniness  of  the  church. 
In  place  of  the  customary  gaudy  carving,  it  merely 
consists  of  a  series  of  painted  fifteenth-century  tablets 
set  in  Gothic  frames.  Simple  rejas  close  the  western 
bays  and  a  florid  Gothic  trasaltar,  the  eastern  termi- 
nation. Directly  back  of  the  altar  lies  a  noble  and 
dignified  figure,  the  founder  of  the  church.  King 
Ordono  II.  At  his  feet  is  a  little  dog,  looking  for  all 


114  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

the  world  like  a  sucking  pig  in  a  butcher's  window. 
And  above  him  is  an  ancient  and  most  curious  Byzan- 
tine relief  of  the  Crucifixion.  The  lions  and  castles 
of  his  kingdom  surround  the  old  king.  The  greater 
portion  of  the  carving  must  belong  to  the  oldest  in 
the  church. 

In  looking  at  the  vaulting  and  considering  the 
diflSculty  of  planning  the  "girola"  or  ambulatory,  one 
realizes  that  such  construction  could  only  be  the  out- 
come of  many  years  of  study,  experiment  and  inspira- 
tion. Perfection  means  long  previous  schooling  and 
experience.  The  apsidal  chapels  that  radiate  from  it 
have  glass  differing  in  excellence.  Here  and  there 
frescoes  of  the  thirteenth  century  line  these  earliest 
walls.  It  is  surprising  in  how  many  different  places 
old  sepulchres  are  to  be  found,  all  more  or  less  similar 
in  their  general  design  and  belonging  to  the  period 
of  transition  from  the  Byzantine  to  the  Gothic,  yet 
each  denoting  the  building  period  of  the  place  where 
it  stands.  Some  of  the  subjects  of  the  carving  are  most 
curious :  a  hog  playing  the  bagpipes,  the  devil  in  the 
garb  of  a  father  confessor,  tempting  a  penitent;  or 
again,  a  woman  suckling  an  ass.  Saint  Froila  lies  on 
one  side  of  the  altar.  Not  only  his  sanctity  but  even 
his  authenticity  were  disputed  by  various  disbe- 
lievers in  the  city,  prior  to  his  being  brought  to  this 
final  resting-place.  The  matter  was  decided  by  pla- 
cing the  body  in  question  on  an  ass's  back,  where- 
upon the  sagacious  animal  took  his  holy  burden  to 
the  spot  where  it  deserved  burial. 

In  the  Capilla  de  Nuestra  Senora  del  Dado,  or  "of 
the  die,"  stands  a  Virgin  with  the  face  of  the  Christ 
child  ever  bleeding,  it  is  said,  since  the  time  when  an 


LEON  115 

unlucky  gambler  in  a  fit  of  despair  threw  his  dice 
against  the  Babe. 

Directly  opposite  Ordono's  tomb  lies  the  Countess 
Sancha,  who,  in  a  burst  of  religious  enthusiasm,  de- 
cided to  leave  her  considerable  worldly  goods  to  the 
Church  instead  of  to  her  nephew.  This  was  more 
than  he  could  stand,  and  he  murdered  her.  Below 
her  figure  he  is  represented,  receiving  his  just  reward 
in  being  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  horses. 

To  the  north,  a  florid  Gothic  portal  leads  on  a 
higher  level  to  the  Chapel  of  Santiago.  This  has  been, 
and  is  still  being,  restored.  Its  three  vaults  are  differ- 
ently arched,  the  ribs  not  being  carried  down  against 
the  side  walls  to  the  floor,  but  met  by  broad  corbels 
supported  by  curious  figures.  The  stonework  is  cold 
and  gray  in  comparison  to  the  church  proper. 

Separating  the  northern  entrance  from  the  cloisters 
is  a  row  of  chapels,  leading  one  into  the  other  and 
crowded  with  tombs  and  sculpture.  There  are  few 
more  complete  cloisters  in  Spain.  Large  and  elabor- 
ate, they  are  a  curious  mixture  of  the  old  Gothic  and 
the  Renaissance  restorations  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Ancient  Gothic  tombs,  their  archivolts  crowded  with 
angels,  pierce  the  interior  walls,  while  the  vaults 
themselves  are  most  elaborately  groined,  the  arches 
and  vaulting  being  later  filled  with  Renaissance 
bosses  and  rosettes.  In  the  sunny  courtyard  are  piled 
up  the  Renaissance  turrets  and  sculptures  that  once 
usurped  on  the  facades  the  places  of  the  older  Gothic 
ornamentation.  The  northern  portal  itself  is  practi- 
cally hidden  by  the  chapels  and  cloisters.  It  is  fine 
Gothic  work.  A  Virgin  and  Child  form  a  mullion  in 
its  centre,  while  very  worldly-looking  women  parade 


116  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

in  its  archivolts.  Everywhere  are  the  arms  of  the 
United  Kingdoms.  A  great  portion  of  the  ancient 
tapestry  blue  and  Veronese  red  coloring  is  still  pre- 
served, throwing  out  the  old  Gothic  figures  in  their 
true  tints. 

This  aerial  tabernacle,  so  rich  and  yet  so  simple, 
lies  in  the  heart  of  a  city  so  fabulously  old  that  the 
Cathedral  itself  belongs  rather  to  its  later  days.  The 
old  houses  and  streets  have  a  dryness  and  close  smell 
like  that  in  the  ancient  sepulchres  of  parched  countries. 
Monuments  and  walls  and  turrets  of  Rome  crumble 
around  the  houses  and  vaults  of  Byzantium.  The 
naive  frescoes  and  carvings  of  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries  seem  to  look  down  with  childlike  wonder 
and  amazement  on  the  pedestrians  now  crowding  the 
patterned  pavements,  or  pressing  against  the  shady 
sides  of  the  time-worn  arches. 

The  worshipers  who  tread  the  narrow  lanes  lead- 
ing to  and  from  the  altar  have  changed,  but  little 
else.  The  square,  mediaeval  castles  with  their  angu- 
lar towers  still  command  the  approach  of  the  main 
thoroughfares.  The  crabbed  old  watchman  with  lan- 
tern and  stick  under  his  cape  treads  his  doddering  gait 
across  the  courtyards  through  the  night  hours,  crying 
after  the  peal  of  the  bell  above,  "Las  doce  han  dado 
y  sereno,"  "Las  trece  han  dado  y  aleviendo,"  "Las 
quince  han  dado  y  nublano,"  just  as  in  the  middle 
ages,  so  that  the  good  peasant  may  know  time  and 
weather  and  merely  turn  in  his  bed,  if  neither  crops 
nor  creatures  need  care. 

Santa  Maria  de  Regla  too  stands  to-day  as  she 
stood  in  the  middle  ages,  a  monument  to  the  care  and 
affection  of  her  children.    She  has  the  same  spiritu- 


LEON  117 

ality,  harmony  of  proportions,  slenderness,  and  purity 
of  lines,  and  she  looks  down  and  blesses  us  to-day 
with  the  same  serenity  and  queenly  grace  which  she 
wore  in  the  fourteenth  century.  She  is  the  finest 
Gothic  cathedral  in  Spain. 


V 
TOLEDO 


Photo  by  J .  Lacoete,  Madrid 


CATHEDRAL  OF  TOLEDO 


V 
TOLEDO 

I  withdrew  at  once  with  the  Morisco  into  the  cloisters  of  the  Ca- 
thedral. —  Don  Quixote. 


THE  peace  of  death  is  over  Toledo,  unbroken  by 
any  invasion  of  modern  thought  or  new  archi- 
tecture since  her  last  deep  sighs  mingled  with  the 
distant  echoes  of  the  middle  ages.  But  she  still  wears 
the  mantle  of  her  imperial  glory.  She  sleeps  in  the 
fierce,  beating  sunlight  of  the  twentieth  century  like 
the  enchanted  princess  of  fairy  tales,  undisturbed  by, 
and  unconscious  of,  the  world  around  her. 

The  atmosphere  is  transparent;  the  sky  spreads 
from  lapis-lazuli  to  a  cobalt  field  back  of  the  snow- 
capped, turquoise  Sierra  de  Gredo  mountains,  while 
a  clear  streak  of  lemon  color  throws  out  the  sharp 
silhouette  of  the  battlements  and  towers. 

There  is  sadness  and  desolation  in  the  decay,  a 
pathetically  forlorn  and  tragical  widowhood,  strangely 
affecting  to  the  senses. 

A  blackened  ruin,  lonely  and  forsaken. 
Already  wrapt  in  winding-sheets  of  sand; 
So  lies  Toledo  till  the  dead  awaken,  — 
A  royal  spoil  of  Time's  resistless  hand.  ' 

Toledo!  The  name  rings  with  history,  romance  and 
legend.  Enthralling  images  of  the  past  rise  before 
one  and  vanish  like  the  ghosts  of  Macbeth.   Capital 


122  THE  CATHEDRALS  OP  SPAIN 

of  Goth,  of  Moslem,  and  of  Christian;  mightiest  of 
hierarchical  seats, ^  city  of  monarch  and  priest,  she 
has  worn  a  double  diadem.  Gautier  says,  "Jamais 
reine  antique,  pas  mdme  Cleopatre,  qui  buvait  des 
perles,  jamais  courtisane  Venitienne  du  temps  de  Ti- 
tien  n'eut  un  ecrin  plus  etincelant,  un  trousseau  plus 
riche  que  Notre  Dame  de  Tolede."  But  the  flame 
of  life  which  once  burned  warm  and  bright  is  now 
extinct  and  all  her  glory  has  vanished.  Neglected 
churches,  convents,  palaces,  and  ruins  lie  huddled  to- 
gether, a  stern  and  solemn  vision  of  the  past,  waiting 
with  the  silence  of  the  tomb,  broken  only  by  the 
continual  tolling  of  her  hoarse  bells. 

The  city  has  a  superb  situation.  Once  seen,  it  is 
forever  impressed  upon  the  memory.  The  hills  on 
which  it  stands  rise  abruptly  from  the  surrounding 
campagna,  which  bakes  brown  and  barren  and  crisp 
under  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  and  stretches 
away  to  the  distant  mountains,  vast  and  uninter- 
rupted in  its  solitude  and  dreariness.  It  is  "pobre 
de  solemnidad,*'  —  solemnly  poor,  as  runs  the  touch- 
ing phrase  in  Spanish.  There  is  no  joy  and  freshness 
of  vegetation,  no  glistening  of  wet  leaves,  no  scent  of 
flowers.  You  read  thirst  in  the  plains,  hunger  in  the 
soil-denuded  hills.  All  is  naked  and  bare,  without 
a  softening  line  or  gentler  shadow,  lying  fallow  in 
spring,  unwatered  in  drought,  and  ungarnered  at 
harvest  time. 

The  Tagus  rushes  round  the  city  in  the  shape  of  a 

1  Spain  is  divided  into  nine  archbishoprics.  In  Castile  are  those  of 
Santiago,  Burgos,  Valladolid,  and  Toledo;  in  Aragon,Zaragoza;  on  the 
Mediterranean,  Taragon  and  Valencia;  and  in  Andalusia,  Seville  and 
Granada. 


TOLEDO  123 

horseshoe,  confining  and  protecting  it  as  the  Wear 
does  the  towers  of  Durham.  It  boils  and  eddies 
'twixt  its  narrow,  rocky  confines,  hurrying  from  the 
gloomy  shadows  to  the  sunshine  below,  through  which 
it  slowly  sweeps,  murky  and  coffee-colored,  to  the 
horizon,  no  life  between  its  flat  banks,  no  commerce 
to  mark  it  as  a  highway. 

You  pass  over  the  high-arched  Alcantara  Bridge, 
which  the  Campeador  and  his  kinsman,  Alvar  Fanez, 
crossed  with  twelve  hundred  horsemen  at  their  back, 
to  demand  justice  from  their  sovereign.  A  broad  ter- 
race crawls  like  a  serpent  up  the  steep  incline  to  the 
city  gates.  A  forest  of  soaring  steeples  rises  above  you, 
topped  by  the  square  bulk  of  the  Alcazar. 

The  city  smells  sleepy.  The  narrow  streets,  or 
rather  alleys,  of  the  town  wind  tortuously  around  the 
stucco  fagades,  with  no  apparent  starting-point  or 
destination,  as  confused  as  a  skein  of  worsted  after  a 
kitten  has  played  with  it.  Thus  were  they  laid  out  by 
the  wise  Arabs,  to  afford  shade  at  all  hours  of  the 
day.  At  every  corner,  one  runs  into  some  detail  of 
historical  or  artistic  interest,  —  history  and  architec- 
ture here  wander  hand  in  hand. 

Huge,  wooden  doors,  closely  studded  with  scallop 
nails  as  big  as  a  man's  fist,  proud  escutcheons  of  no- 
ble races  lost  to  all  save  Spain's  history;  charming 
glimpses  of  interior  courtyards  and  gardens  glittering 
fresh  in  their  emerald  coloring,  and  sweet  with  the 
scent  of  orange  blossoms;  Gothic  crenelations.  Re- 
naissance ironwork  and  railing,  and  Moorish  capitals 
and  ornamentation,  all  pell-mell,  the  styles  of  six 
centuries  often  appearing  in  the  same  building. 
More  than  a  hundred  churches  and  chapels  and  forty 


lU  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

monasteries  crumble  side  by  side  within  the  small 
radius  of  the  city.  Half  of  its  area  was  once  covered 
by  religious  buildings  or  mortmain  property. 


n 


The  church,  be  it  a  grand  cathedral  or  the  humble 
steeple  of  some  little  hamlet,  is  always  the  connecting 
link  between  past  and  present.  It  has  been  the  high- 
est artistic  expression  of  the  people,  and  it  remains 
an  eloquent  witness  to  continuity  and  tradition.  It 
is  what  makes  later  ages  most  forcibly  "remember," 
for  it  seeks  to  embody  and  satisfy  the  greatest  need 
of  the  human  heart. 

The  history  of  a  great  cathedral  church  of  Spain 
is  so  closely  connected  with  the  civil  life  of  its  city 
that  one  cannot  be  thoroughly  studied  without  some 
familiarity  with  the  other.  Spanish  cathedrals  differ 
in  this  respect  from  their  great  English  and  French 
sisters.  In  England,  cathedrals  were  built  and  owned 
by  the  clergy,  they  belonged  to  the  priests,  they  were 
surrounded  and  hedged  in  from  the  outside  world  by 
their  extensive  lawns  and  cloisters,  refectories,  chap- 
ter houses,  bishops'  palaces,  and  numerous  monastic 
buildings.  They  were  shut  off  from  the  rest  of  the 
world  by  high  walls.  In  France,  the  cathedrals  were 
the  centre  of  civic  life;  their  organs  were  the  heart- 
throbs of  the  people;  their  bells  were  notes  of  warn- 
ing. The  very  houses  of  the  artisans  climbed  up  to 
their  sides  and  nestled  for  protection  between  the 
buttresses  of  the  great  Mother  Church.  Notre  Dame 
d* Amiens,  for  instance,  was  the  church  of  a  commune. 


N^*&T  Tromt 


KEY  OF  PLAN  OF  TOLEDO  CATHEDRAL 


A.  Chapel  of  Saint  Blase. 

B.  Chapel  of  the  Parish  of  Saint  Peter. 

C.  Octagon. 

D.  Chapel  of  the  Virgin  of  the  Sanctuary. 

E.  Large  Sacristy. 

F.  Court  of  the  Hall  of  Accounts. 

G.  Chapel  of  the  New  Kings. 

H.  Chapel  of  the  Master  of  Santiago,  D. 

Alvaro  de  Luna. 

I.  Chapel  of  Saint  Ildefonso. 

K.  Chapter  House. 

L.  Chapel  of  the  Old  Kings  or  of  the  Holy 

Cross. 


M.   Capilla  Mayor. 

N.   Chapel  of  the  Tower  or  of  the  Dean. 

O.    Mozarabic  Chapel. 

P.    Choir. 

Q.    Portal  of  the  Lions. 

R.  Portal  of  the  Olive,  or  Gate  of  La 
Liana. 

S.    Portal  of  the  Choir. 

T.    Portal  of  the  Little  Bread. 

V.   Portal  of  the  Visitation. 

W.  Portal  of  the  Tower  or  Gate  of  Hell. 

X.  Portal  of  the  Scriveners  or  of  Judg- 
ment. 


TOLEDO  126 

what  Walter  Pater  calls  a  "people's  church."  They 
belonged  to  the  people  more  than  to  the  clergy. 
They  were  a  civil  rather  than  an  ecclesiastical  growth, 
essentially  the  layman's  glory. 

In  Spain,  the  church  belonged  to  both.  Municipal 
and  ecclesiastical  history  were  one  and  the  same,  go- 
ing hand  in  hand  in  bloody  strife  or  peaceful  union, 
— the  city  was  the  body,  the  cathedral  its  animat- 
ing soul.  The  cathedrals  were  meant,  not  for  prayer 
alone,  but  to  live  in, — they  were  for  festivals,  meet- 
ings, thanksgivings,  for  surging,  excited  crowds.  The 
church  was  an  imperium  in  imperio.  It  was  the  rally- 
ing place  in  all  great  undertakings  or  excitements. 
Here  the  Cortes  often  met,  the  great  church  con- 
claves assembled,  the  mystical  Autos  or  sacred  plays 
were  performed,  in  them  soldiers  gathered,  prepared 
for  battle,  edicts  were  published,  sovereigns  were  first 
proclaimed,  and  allegiance  was  sworn;  kings  were 
christened,  anointed,  and  buried.  The  troubled  mur- 
murings  of  the  lower  classes  were  here  first  voiced. 
They  were  the  art  galleries;  here  were  displayed  their 
finest  paintings,  statues  and  tapestries;  they  were 
even  museums  of  natural  history,  and  exhibited  the 
finest  examples  of  their  wood-carving  and  glass-work, 
and  the  iron  and  silversmith's  arts.  It  is  thus  easy  to 
see  that  the  political  history  of  Toledo  becomes  vital 
in  connection  with  its  Cathedral  church. 

The  history  of  Toledo  dates  back  to  Roman  days, 
—  we  find  Pliny  referring  to  the  city  as  the  metropo- 
lis of  Carpentania.  She  was  among  the  first  cities 
of  Spain  to  embrace  Christianity.  All  the  barbarians, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Franks,  were  Arians,  but  the 
last  Gothic  ruler  in  Spain  to  withstand  the  Roman 


126  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

faith  was  Leovgild,  who  reigned  in  the  last  half  of  the 
sixth  century.  He  was  also  their  first  able  adminis- 
trator, the  first  who  consistently  strove  to  bring  order 
out  of  the  chaos  of  warring  tribes  and  conflicting 
authorities.  Contemporaries  describe  his  palace  at 
Toledo,  his  throne  and  apparel,  and  his  council 
chamber,  as  of  truly  royal  magnificence.  It  was  re- 
served to  his  son  Reccared  to  change  the  history  of 
Spain  by  publicly  announcing  his  conversion  to  the 
Roman  faith  before  a  council  of  Roman  and  Arian 
bishops  held  in  Toledo  in  587,  at  the  same  time  in- 
viting them  to  exchange  their  views  fearlessly  and,  as 
many  as  would,  to  follow  him.  The  Goths  were  never 
diflBcult  to  convert,  and  many  of  the  bishops  and  of  the 
lords  who  were  present  embraced  the  Catholic  faith, 
to  which  a  majority  of  the  people  already  belonged. 
Gregory  the  Great,  hearing  of  the  success  of  Recca- 
red's  gentle  and  liberal  proselytism,  wrote  to  him: 
"What  shall  I  do  at  the  Last  Judgment  when  I  arrive 
with  empty  hands,  and  your  Excellency  followed  by 
a  flock  of  faithful  souls,  converted  by  persuasion?" 
He  summoned  a  third  council  at  Toledo  in  589,  and 
in  concert  with  nearly  seventy  bishops,  regulated  the 
rites  and  discipline  of  the  Church,  at  the  same  time 
excluding  the  Jews  from  all  employments.  In  royal 
Toledo  Reccared  was  anointed  with  holy  oil,  and  he 
substituted  the  Latin  for  the  Gothic  tongue  in  divine 
service,  where  Isidore  was  the  first  to  use  it.  In  daily 
life  Latin  soon  replaced  Gothic.  King  Wamba  built 
the  great  walls  round  the  city,  and  King  Roderick 
held  his  glorious  tournament  inside  them. 

Greater  than  any  fame  of  Gothic  monarch  was  that 
of  the  Church  Councils  which  met  here  to  determine 


TOLEDO,  127 

the  course  of  early  dogma  and  shape  the  destinies 
of  the  larger  part  of  Christendom. 

The  most  salient  figure  during  the  rule  of  the 
Gothic  kings  was  Saint  Ildefonso,  who  quite  over- 
shadows his  royal  contemporaries.  In  711  the  Moors 
conquered  the  city,  which  then  became  a  dependency 
of  the  Caliphs  of  Damascus  and  Bagdad  until  a  Moor- 
ish prince  shook  off  the  foreign  yoke.  Independent 
Arab  princes  ruled,  with  Toledo  as  capital  of  their 
empire,  until  Alfonso  VI,  King  of  Castile  and  Leon, 
in  1085,  finally  conquered  it  for  himself  and  his  suc- 
cessors. 

During  the  reigns  of  the  early  Castilian  kings,  we 
find  names  connected  with  the  city's  history  which 
became  famous  all  over  Spain.  The  Cid  was  the  city's 
first  Alcaide.  Alfonso  el  Batallador  and  Pedro  el 
Cruel  stand  out  in  sombre  relief,  and  Toledo  was 
the  cradle  of  the  dramatic  Comunidades'  rising,  and 
the  scene  of  the  noble  death  of  their  patriotic  leader 
Padella.  The  streets  ran  with  blood,  and  the  walls 
spoke  of  glorious  resistance  before  the  Flemish  em- 
peror had  crushed  the  liberties  of  the  people. 

We  have  a  description  of  the  brilliant  pageant  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella's  entry  after  defeating  the 
king  of  Portugal.  "The  Prince  of  Aragon  was  in 
full  armour  on  his  war  horse  and  Isabella  riding  a 
beautiful  mule,  splendidly  caparisoned,  the  bridle 
being  held  by  two  noble  pages.  Followed  by  their 
gorgeous  retinue  they  rode  slowly  towards  the  Cathe- 
dral, while  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  Church,  the 
archbishop,  himself  a  mitred  king,  the  canons,  and 
the  clergy,  in  their  pontifical  garments,  preceded  by 
the  Cross,  came  forth  from  the  Puerta  del  Perdon 


US  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

to  receive  them.  On  each  side  of  the  arch  above  the 
doorway  were  two  angels,  and  in  the  centre  a  young 
maiden  richly  clothed,  with  a  golden  crown  on  her 
head,  to  represent  the  image  of  *La  Bendita  Madre 
de  Dios,  nuestra  Senora.'  When  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  and  all  the  company  had  gathered  around, 
the  angels  began  to  sing.  The  following  day  the  tro- 
phies of  war  were  presented  to  the  Cathedral." 

During  the  period  immediately  following  the  reign 
of  the  Catholic  Kings,  Toledo  reached  her  highest 
prosperity.  She  numbered  as  many  as  200,000  in- 
habitants;—  to-day  she  has  only  20,000.  Glorious 
processions  swept  through  her  streets,  the  proud 
knights  of  the  military  orders  of  Alcantara,  Calatrava, 
and  Santiago,  black-robed  Dominican  inquisitors, 
executioners,  royal  chaplains  and  major-domos,  the 
Councils  of  the  Indies,  Castilian  grandees,  Roman 
princes  and  cardinals,  brawling  Flemish  and  Bur- 
gundian  nobles,  German  landsknechts,  and ,  great 
Catholic  ambassadors. 

Toledo  received  her  death-blow  when  Philip  II, 
unable  to  brook  the  haughty  claims  of  the  Toledan 
archbishops,  and  feeling  his  power  second  to  theirs, 
finally,  in  1560,  moved  the  capital  of  his  realm  to 
Madrid.  Toledo's  annals  grew  dark.  So  merciless 
was  the  Tribunal  of  the  Inquisition  that  under  its 
vigilant  eye  3327  processes  were  disposed  of  in  little 
more  than  a  year.  So  Toledo  fell  from  her  former 
greatness. 

The  site  of  the  Cathedral  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
city  is  by  no  means  dominant.  The  church  lies  so 
low  that  even  the  spire  is  inconspicuous  in  the  land- 
scape.  On  three  sides  adjacent  buildings  completely 


TOLEDO  129 

bar  all  view  or  approach.  The  only  free  perspective 
is  on  the  fourth  side,  from  the  steps  of  the  Ayunta- 
miento  across  the  square. 

The  inscription  above  the  door  of  the  city  hall,  with 
its  trenchant  advice  to  the  magistrates,  is  well  worth 
notice:  — 

Nobles  discretes  varones. 
Qui  gobernais  a  Toledo 
En  aquatos  escalones 
Codicia,  temor  y  miedo. 
Por  Ids  comunes  provechos 
Deschad  los  particulares 
Puez  vos  hezo  Dios  pilares 
De  tan  requisimos  lechos 
Estat  vermes  y  derechos.1 

In  the  streets,  the  alcazerias  which  wind  around  the 
sides  of  the  Cathedral,  the  rich  silk  guild  traded.  Here 
were  shipped  the  goods  that  freighted  vessels  sailing 
for  the  American  colonies. 

During  the  Visigothic  reign  in  Toledo,  the  Cathe- 
dral site  was  occupied  by  a  Christian  temple.  It  was 
transformed  by  the  Moors  after  their  occupancy  of 
the  city  into  their  principal  mosque;  there  they  were 
still  permitted  to  carry  on  their  worship,  according 
to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  made  on  their  surrender 
of  the  city  to  King  Alfonso  IV  in  1085.  A  year  after- 

*  Ye  men  so  noble  and  so  bright. 
Who  from  your  elevated  height 
Do  rule  Toledo's  avarice. 
And  govern  fear  and  cowardice. 
Of  costly  bed,  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
Hath  made  ye  to  the  corner  posts. 
Leave  private  interests  behind, 
Show  truth  and  justice  to  mankind. 
To  common  good  yourselves  do  bind. 


180  THE  CATHEDRALS  OP  SPAIN 

wards  King  Alfonso  went  off  on  a  campaign,  leaving 
the  capital  in  charge  of  his  French  queen,  Constance, 
and  the  Archbishop  Bernard,  recently  sent  to  Toledo 
at  the  King's  request  by  the  Abbot  of  Cluny.  No 
sooner  was  King  Alfonso  outside  the  city  walls  than 
the  regents  turned  the  Moors  out  of  the  church. 
The  Archbishop  arrived  with  a  throng  of  Christian 
citizens,  battered  down  the  main  entrance,  threw 
the  Moslem  objects  of  worship  into  the  gutters,  and 
set  in  their  place  the  Cross  and  the  Virgin  Mary. 
When  the  news  of  this  outrage  reached  the  ears  of  the 
King,  he  returned  in  wrath  to  Toledo,  swearing  he 
would  burn  both  wife  and  prelate  who  had  dared  to 
break  the  oath  he  had  so  solemnly  sworn.  The  Mos- 
lems, sagely  fearing  later  vengeance  would  be  wreaked 
upon  them  should  they  permit  matters  to  take  their 
course,  besought  the  returning  sovereign  to  restrain 
his  wrath  while  they  released  him  from  his  oath,  — 
"Whereat  he  had  great  joy,  and,  riding  on  into  the 
city,  the  matter  ended  peacefully." 

The  appearance  of  this  fanatic  Cluny  monk  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  as  heralding  a  new  influence 
in  the  development  and  history  of  Spanish  ecclesias- 
tical architecture.  His  coming  marks  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  foreign  style  of  building  and  a  revolution 
in  the  previous  national  methods,  known  as  "obra 
de  los  Godos,"  or  work  of  the  Goths.  Further,  with 
the  gradual  arrival  of  French  ecclesiastics  from  Cluny 
and  Citeaux,  came  also  a  greater  interference  from 
Rome  in  the  management  of  the  Spanish  Church,  and 
a  radical  limitation  of  the  former  power  of  the 
Peninsula's  arrogant  prelates.  Owing  to  the  new  in- 
fluence, the  Italian  mass-book  was  soon  presented  in 


TOLEDO  181 

place  of  the  ancient  Gothic  ritual  and  breviary.  The 
foreign  churchmen  likewise  aided  in  uniting  sover- 
eign, clergy,  and  nobility  in  common  cause  against 
the  Saracen  infidels  now  so  firmly  ensconced  in  the 
Peninsula.  Spanish  art  had  previously  felt  only  na- 
tional influences;  now,  through  the  door  opened  by 
the  monks,  it  received  potent  foreign  elements. 

Spain  had  been  far  too  much  occupied  with  internal 
strife  and  political  dissension  to  have  had  breathing 
spell  or  opportunity  for  the  development  of  the  fine 
arts  and  the  building  of  churches.  The  passion  for 
building  which  the  French  monks  brought  with  them 
awoke  entirely  dormant  qualities  in  the  Spaniard, 
which  in  the  early  Romanesque,  but  especially  in  the 
Gothic  edifices,  produced  beautiful,  but  essentially 
exotic  fruits.  First  in  the  days  of  the  Renaissance  the 
architecture  showed  features  which  might  be  termed 
original  and  national.  With  the  Cluniacs  came  not 
only  French  artisans  but  Flemish,  German,  and 
Italian,  all  taking  a  hand  in,  and  lending  their  influ- 
ences to  the  great  works  of  the  new  art. 

Nothing  remains  of  the  old  Moorish-Christian 
house  of  worship.  It  was  torn  down  by  order  of  Saint 
Ferdinand  (he  had  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  Bur- 
gos as  early  as  1221),  who  laid  the  corner  stone  of  the 
present  edifice  with  great  ceremony,  assisted  by  the 
Archbishop,  in  the  month  of  August,  1227  (seven 
years  prior  to  the  commencement  of  Salisbury  and 
Amiens).  The  building  was  practically  completed  in 
1493,  during  the  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the 
most  illustrious  epoch  of  Spanish  history.  Additions 
and  alterations  injurious  to  the  harmony  and  sym- 
metry of  the  building  were  made  till  the  end  of  the 


t9St  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

seventeenth  century,  and  again  continued  during 
the  eighteenth.  It  thus  represents  the  architectu- 
ral inspiration  and  decadence  of  nearly  six  hundred 
years. 

In  style  it  belongs  to  the  group  of  three  great 
churches,  Burgos,  Toledo  and  Leon,  which  were  based 
upon  the  constructional  principles  and  decorative 
features  termed  Gothic.  In  some  respects  these 
churches  embodied  to  a  highly  developed  extent  the 
organic  principles  of  the  style,  in  others,  they  fell  far 
short  of  a  clear  comprehension  of  them.  None  of 
them  had  the  beauty  or  the  purity  of  the  greatest  of 
their  French  sisters.  Burgos  may  be  said  to  be  most 
consistently  Gothic  in  all  its  details,  but  neither 
Toledo  nor  Leon  was  free  from  the  influence  of  Moor- 
ish art,  which  was  indeed  developing  and  flowering 
under  Moslem  rule  in  the  south  of  the  Peninsula,  at 
the  time  when  Gothic  churches  were  lifting  their 
spires  into  the  blue  of  northern  skies  under  the  guid- 
ance and  inspiration  of  the  French  masters.  In  many 
respects  the  Gothic  could  not  express  itself  similarly 
in  Spain  and  France,  —  climatic  conditions  differed, 
and,  consequently,  the  architecture  which  was  to 
suit  their  needs.  In  France,  Gothic  building  tended 
towards  a  steadily  increasing  elimination  of  all  wall 
surfaces.  The  weight  and  thrusts,  previously  carried 
by  walls,  were  met  by  a  more  and  more  skillfully  de- 
veloped framework  of  piers  and  flying  buttresses. 
Such  a  development  was  not  practical  for  Spain  nor 
was  it  understood.  The  widely  developed  fields  for 
glass  would  have  admitted  the  heat  of  the  sun  too 
freely,  whereas  the  broad  surfaces  of  wall-masonry 
gave  coolness  and  shade.  Nor  were  the  sharply  slop- 


TOLEDO  13S 

ing  roofs  for  the  easy  shedding  of  snow  necessary 
in  Spain.  In  French  and  Enghsh  Gothic  churches, 
the  Hght,  pointed  spire  is  the  ornamental  feature  of 
the  composition,  whereas  in  the  Spanish,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  the  towers  become  heavy  and  square. 

None  of  the  three  Cathedrals  in  question  impresses 
us  as  the  outcome  of  Spanish  architectural  growth, 
but  seems  rather  a  direct  importation.  They  have  the 
main  features  of  a  style  with  which  their  architects 
were  familiar  and  in  which  they  had  long  since  taken 
the  initial  steps.  They  are  working  with  a  practically 
developed  system,  whose  infancy  and  early  growth 
had  been  followed  elsewhere. 

While  in  the  twelfth,  and  the  early  portion  of  the 
thirteenth  century.  Frenchmen  were  gradually  evolv- 
ing the  new  system  of  ecclesiastical  architecture,  the 
Spaniards,  destined  to  surpass  them,  were  to  all 
purposes  still  producing  nothing  but  Romanesque 
buildings,  borrowing  certain  ornamental  or  construc- 
tional features  of  the  new  style,  but  in  so  slight  and 
illogical  a  degree,  that  their  style  remained  based 
upon  its  old  principles.  They  employed  the  pointed 
arch  between  arcades  and  vaulting,  and  unlike  the 
French,  threw  a  dome  or  cimborio  over  the  inter- 
section of  nave  and  transepts.  In  some  instances  we 
find  a  regular  French  quadripartite  vault  at  the  cross- 
ing, but  such  changes  are  not  sufficient  to  term  the 
cathedrals  of  the  period  (Tudela,  Tarragona,  Zamora, 
and  Lerida)  Gothic.  They  remain  historically,  rather 
than  artistically,  interesting.  With  the  second  quar- 
ter of  the  thirteenth  century,  comes  the  change. 

In  style  Toledo  corresponds  most  closely  to  the 
early  Gothic  of  the  north  of  France.    Its  plan  re- 


134  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

minds  one  forcibly  of  Bourges,  though  it  is  far  more 
ambitious  in  size.  Owing  to  the  long  period  of  its 
building,  it  bears  late  Gothic,  Renaissance,  and 
Baroque  features,  while  traces  of  Moorish  influence 
are  not  wanting. 

The  Cathedral  of  Toledo  was  built  in  an  imagin- 
ative, creative  and  passionate  age, — an  age  when  the 
ordinary  mason  was  a  master  builder  as  well  as  sculp- 
tor, stimulated  by  local  affection,  pride  and  piety. 
The  results  of  his  work  were  tremendous,  —  his  fin- 
ished product  was  a  storehouse  of  art.  Artists  of  all 
nations  had  a  hand  in  the  work.  Bermudez  men- 
tions 149  names  of  those  who  embellished  the  Cathe- 
dral during  six  centuries.  Here  worked  Borgona, 
Berruguete,  Cespedes,  and  Villalpondo,  Copin,  Ver- 
gara  Egas,  and  Covarrubias.  It  is  rather  diflficult  to 
analyze  their  genius.  They  were  not  naturally  art- 
ists, as  were  the  French  and  Italians;  they  did  not 
create  as  easily,  but  were  rather  stimulated  by  a  more 
naive  craving  for  vast  dimensions.  With  this  we  find 
interwoven  in  places  the  sparkling,  jewel-like  in- 
tricacy and  play  of  light  and  shade  so  natural  to  the 
Moorish  artisan,  and  the  sombre,  overpowering 
solemnity  of  the  warlike  Spanish  cavalier. 

It  is  necessary  for  a  people  at  all  times  to  find 
expression  for  its  aesthetic  life.  Architecture,  like 
literature,  reflects  the  sentiments  and  tendencies  of 
a  nation's  mind.  As  truly  as  Don  Quixote,  Don  Juan, 
or  the  Cid  express  them,  so  do  the  stories  told  by 
Toledo,  Leon,  or  Burgos.  They  reproduce  the  pas- 
sions, the  dreams,  the  imagination,  and  the  absurd- 
ities of  the  age  which  created  them. 

Toledo's  first  architect,  who  superintended  the 


TOLEDO  1S5 

work  for  more  than  half  a  century,  was  named  Perez 
(d.  1285).  He  was  followed  by  Rodrigo,  Alfonso, 
Alvar  Gomez,  Annequin  de  Egas,  Martin  Sanchez, 
Juan  Guas,  and  Enrique  de  Egas.  Hand  in  hand  with 
the  architects,  worked  the  high  priests. 

The  Archbishop  of  Toledo  is  the  Primate  of  Spain. 
Mighty  prelates  have  sat  on  that  throne,  and  the  chap- 
ter was  once  one  of  the  most  celebrated  in  the  world. 
The  Primate  of  Toledo  has  the  Pope  as  well  as  the 
King  of  Spain  for  honorary  canons,  and  his  church 
takes  precedence  of  all  others  in  the  land.  The  offices 
attached  to  his  person  are  numerous.  As  late  as  the 
time  of  Napoleon's  conquest  of  the  city,  fourteen 
dignitaries,  twenty-seven  canons,  and  fifty  prebends, 
besides  a  host  of  chaplains  and  subaltern  priests, 
followed  in  the  train  of  the  Metropolitan.  At  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  his  revenues  exceeded 
80,000  ducats  (about  $720,000),  while  the  gross 
amount  of  those  of  the  subordinate  beneficiaries  of 
his  church  rose  to  180,000.  This  amount,  or  12,000,000 
reals,  had  not  decreased  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  In  the  middle  ages  he  was  followed 
by  more  horse  and  foot  than  either  the  Grand  Master 
of  Santiago  or  the  Constable  of  Castile.  When  he 
threw  his  influence  into  the  balance,  the  pretender  to 
the  throne  was  often  victorious.  He  held  jurisdiction 
over  fifteen  large  and  populous  towns  besides  num- 
bers of  inferior  places. 

Many  who  occupied  the  episcopal  throne  of  To- 
ledo ruled  Spain,  not  only  by  virtue  of  the  prestige 
their  high  office  gave  them,  but  through  extraordi- 
nary genius  and  remarkable  attainments.  They  were 
great  alike  in  war  and  in  peace.  Many  of  them  com- 


180  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

bined  broadness  of  view  and  real  learning  with  purity 
of  morals.  They  founded  universities  and  libraries, 
framed  useful  laws,  stimulated  noble  impulses,  cor- 
rected abuses,  and  promoted  reforms.  Popes  called 
them  to  Rome  to  ask  their  advice  in  affairs  of  the 
Church.  Bright  in  the  history  of  Spain  shine  the 
names  of  such  prelates  as  Rodriguez,  Tenorio,  Fon- 
seca,  Ximenez,  Mendoza,  Tavera,  and  Lorenzana. 

From  the  tenth  to  the  sixteenth  centuries  Castile 
was  far  less  bigoted  than  other  European  nations, 
for,  of  all  the  daughters  of  the  Mother  Church,  Spain 
was  the  most  independent.  Her  kings  and  her  pri- 
mate were  naturally  her  champions,  ever  ready  and 
defiant.  King  James  I  even  went  so  far  as  to  cut 
out  the  tongue  of  a  too  meddlesome  bishop.  From 
early  Gothic  days  to  the  time  when  Ferdinand  began 
to  dream  of  Spain  as  a  power  beyond  the  Iberian 
Peninsula,  no  kingdom  in  Europe  was  less  disposed 
to  brook  the  interference  of  the  Pope.  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  thwarted  him  in  insisting  upon  their  right  to 
appoint  their  own  candidates  for  the  high  oflSces  of 
the  Spanish  church,  and  the  Pope  was  obliged  to  give 
way. 

The  figure  we  constantly  encounter  in  the  thrill- 
ing tilts  between  Rome  and  Spanish  prelates  is  the 
Archbishop  of  Toledo.  Like  Richelieu  and  Wolsey, 
Ximenez  and  Mendoza  towered  above  their  time, 
and  their  great  spirits  still  seem  present  within  their 
church.  Ximenez,  better  known  in  English  as  Car- 
dinal Cisneros,  rose  to  his  high  office  much  against 
his  will  from  the  obscurity  of  a  humble  monk.  The 
peremptory  orders  of  the  Pope  were  necessary  to 
make  him  leave  his  cell  and   become  successively 


TOLEDO  137 

Archbishop  of  Toledo,  Grand  Chancellor  of  Castile, 
Inquisitor  General,  Cardinal,  Confessor  to  Queen 
Isabella,  Minister  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  and 
Regent  of  the  Kingdom  of  Charles  V.  He  was  "an 
austere  priest,  a  profound  politician,  a  powerful  intel- 
lect, a  will  of  iron,  and  an  inflexible,  and  unconquer- 
able soul;  one  of  the  greatest  figures  in  modern  his- 
tory; one  of  the  loftiest  types  of  the  Spanish  character. 
Notwithstanding  the  greatness  thrust  upon  him,  he 
preserved  the  austere  practices  of  the  simple  monk. 
Under  a  robe  of  silk  and  purple,  he  wore  the  hard 
shirt  and  frock  of  St.  Francis.  In  his  apartments,  em- 
bellished with  costly  hangings,  he  slept  on  the  floor, 
with  only  a  log  of  wood  for  his  pillow.  Ferdinand 
owed  to  him  that  he  preserved  Castile,  and  Charles 
V,  that  he  became  King  of  Spain.  He  did  not  boast 
when,  pointing  to  the  Cordon  of  St.  Francis,  he  ex- 
plained, *It  is  with  this  I  bridle  the  pride  of  the 
aristocracy  of  Castile.'  '*  * 

History  may  accuse  him  of  the  unpardonable  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Moriscos,  and  the  retention  of  the 
Inquisition  as  well  as  its  introduction  into  the  New 
World,  —  but  what  he  did  was  done  from  the  strength 
of  his  convictions  and  according  to  what,  in  the  light 
of  his  age,  seemed  the  best  for  his  country  and  his 
Church.  He  was  perhaps  even  greater  as  a  Spaniard 
than  as  a  churchman.  His  conceptions  were  all  grand, 
and  he  was  as  versatile  as  he  was  great.  Victor  in  the 
greatest  of  all  Spanish  toils,  he  executed  the  polyglot 
version  of  the  Scriptures,  the  most  stupendous  liter- 
ary achievement  of  his  age.  Fitting  his  greatness  is 
the  simplicity  of  his  epitaph: — 

*  Poitou,  Spain  and  its  People, 


188  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Condideram  musis  Franciscus  grande  lyceum. 

Condor  in  exiguo  nunc  ego  sarcophago. 
Praetextam  junxi  sacco,  galeamque  galero, 

Frater,  Dux,  Praesul,  Cardineusque  pater. 
Quin  virtute  mea  junctum  est  diadema  cucullo. 

Cum  mihi  regnanti  paruit  Hesperia. 

The  figure  of  Cardinal  Mendoza  stands  out  clear 
and  strong  in  the  final  struggle  with  Granada.  It  was 
he  who  first  planted  the  Cross  where  the  Crescent 
had  waved  for  six  centuries,  and  he  was  the  first  to 
counsel  Isabella  to  assist  the  great  discoverer.  His 
keen  intellect  made  him  lend  a  ready  ear  and  friendly 
hand  to  the  rapid  development  of  the  science  of  his 
time  and  the  fast-spreading  taste  for  literature. 

And  so  the  line  of  Toledo's  illustrious  bishops 
continues,  —  leaders  of  the  church  militant,  like  the 
Montagues  and  Capulets,  they  fought  from  the  mere 
habit  of  fighting,  but  they  seldom  stained  their 
swords  in  an  unworthy  cause. 


ni 


There  is  a  great  discrepancy  between  the  interior 
and  the  exterior  of  the  Cathedral.  The  former  is  as 
grand  as  the  latter  is  insignificant  and  unworthy.  The 
scale  is  tremendous.  Only  Milan  and  Seville  cover 
a  greater  area,  if  the  Cathedral  is  considered  in  con- 
nection with  its  cloisters.  Cologne  comes  next  to  it  in 
size.  It  runs  from  west  to  east,  with  nave  and  double 
side  aisles,  ending  in  a  semicircular  apse  with  a 
double  ambulatory.  As  is  characteristic  of  Spanish 
churches,  it  is  astonishingly  wide  for  its  length,  — 


TOLEDO  139 

being  204  feet  wide  and  404  feet  long.  The  nave  is 
98  feet  high  and  44  feet  wide,  while  the  outer  aisles 
are  respectively  26  and  32  feet  across. 

The  exterior,  with  the  exception  of  the  ornamental 
portions  of  the  portals  and  a  few  carvings,  is  all  built 
of  a  Berroquena  granite.  The  interior  is  of  a  kind  of 
mouse-colored  limestone  taken  from  the  quarries  of 
Oliquelas  near  Toledo.  Like  many  limestones,  it  is 
soft  when  first  quarried,  but  hardens  with  time  and 
exposure. 

The  impression  of  the  exterior  is  strangely  dis- 
appointing. Imposing  and  massive,  but  irregular, 
squat,  and  encumbered  by  surrounding  edifices  cling- 
ing to  its  masonry.  An  indifferent  husk,  encasing  a 
noble  interior.  Only  one  tower  is  completed,  and  no 
two  portions  of  the  decoration  are  symmetrical.  The 
exterior  has  no  governing  scheme,  no  "idee  mai- 
tresse,"  no  individual  style,  and  is  the  outgrowth  of  no 
definite  period.  Successive  generations  of  peace  or 
war  have  enriched  or  destroyed  its  masonry.  You 
stop  with  an  exclamation  of  admiration  in  front  of 
certain  details  of  the  exterior;  before  others,  you  only 
feel  astonishment.  The  want  of  order  and  unity  in 
the  execution  of  its  various  portions  and  elevations  is 
distressing. 

Order  and  harmony  may  be  preserved,  even  where 
an  edifice  is  carried  on  by  successive  ages,  each  of 
which  imparts  to  its  work  the  stamp  of  its  own  de- 
veloping skill  and  imagination.  Very  few  of  the 
great  cathedrals  were  begun  and  completed  in  one 
style.  Most  of  the  great  French  churches  show  traces 
of  the  earlier  Norman  or  Romanesque;  most  of  the 
English  Gothic,  traces  of  the  Norman  or  of  the  dif- 


140  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

ferent  periods  of  English  Gothic  architecture;  but 
one  dominating  scheme  has  been  followed  by  the  con- 
secutive architects.  The  lack  of  such  a  governing  and 
restraining  principle  is  felt  in  the  exterior  of  Toledo. 
Further  than  this,  although  successive  wars  and  re- 
ligious fanaticism  have  with  their  destructive  fury- 
injured  so  many  of  the  beautiful  statues  and  exquisite 
carvings  and  much  of  the  stained  glass  of  the  French 
and  English  religious  establishments,  still  the  archi- 
tecture itself  has  in  the  main  been  left  undisturbed. 
In  Toledo,  there  is  hardly  a  portion  of  the  early  struc- 
ture and  decoration  of  the  lower,  visible  part  of  the 
Cathedral  which  has  not  been  altered  or  torn  down 
by  the  various  architects  of  the  last  three  centuries. 

As  an  obvious  result,  the  portions  of  the  exterior 
which  are  interesting  are  individual  features,  and  not 
a  unified  scheme;  and  they  are  interesting  historically, 
rather  than  in  relation  to  or  in  dependence  upon  one 
another. 

The  west  front,  which  is  the  principal  fagade,  the 
various  doorways  and  completed  tower  form  the  most 
interesting  portions  of  the  exterior. 

The  west  front  is  flanked  by  two  projecting  towers, 
dissimilar  in  design.  To  the  south  is  the  uncompleted 
one,  containing  the  Mozarabic  chapel,^  roofed  by  an 
octagonal  cupola  and  surmounted  by  a  lantern, 
strangely  betraying  in  exterior  form  its  Byzantine 
ancestry. 

To  the  north  rises  the  spire  which  commands  the 
city  and  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo.  It  was  begun  in 
1380  and  completed  in  sixty  years,  —  no  long  time 
when  we  take  into  account  its  size  and  detail  and  the 

\  The  work  of  Jorge  Manuel  Theotocopuli,  son  of  the  great  painter. 


TOLEDO  141 

carefulness  of  its  construction.  Rodrigo  Alfonso  and 
Alvar  Gomez  were  the  architects,  and  the  Cardinals 
Pedro  Tenorio  and  Tavera  directed  the  work.  Al- 
though it  lacks  the  soaring  grace  of  the  towers  of 
Burgos,  it  possesses  quiet  strength  and  a  majestic 
dignity,  and  the  transitions  between  its  various 
stories  have  been  executed  with  a  skill  scarcely  less 
than  that  shown  in  the  older  tower  of  Chartres.  It 
is  in  fact  full  of  a  character  of  its  own.  Divided  into 
three  parts,  it  rises  to  a  height  of  some  three  hundred 
feet  and  terminates  in  a  huge  cross.  The  principal 
building  material  is  the  hard  but  easily  carved  Ber- 
roquena  granite,  with  certain  portions  finished  in 
marble  and  slate.  The  lower  part,  which  is  square, 
has  its  faces  pierced  by  interlacing  Gothic  arches, 
windows  of  different  shapes,  ornamental  coats-of- 
arms  and  marble  medallions.  It  is  crowned  by  a  rail- 
ing and,  at  the  corners  where  the  transition  to  the 
hexagon  occurs,  by  stone  pyramids.  The  central  part 
is  hexagonal  in  plan  and  ornamented  by  arches  and 
crocketed  finials.  Above  it  rises  the  slate  spire  ter- 
minating under  the  cross  in  a  conical  pyramid,  added 
after  a  fire  in  the  year  1662.  The  spire  is  curiously 
and  uniquely  encircled  by  three  collars  of  pointed 
iron  spikes,  intended  to  symbolize  the  crowns  of 
thorns. 

The  great  bells  of  the  Cathedral  peal  from  this 
tower,  among  them  the  huge  San .  Eugenio,  better 
known,  though,  by  the  name  "Campana  gorda,"  or 
the  Big-bellied  Bell,  weighing  1543  arobes  (about  17 
tons)  and  put  up  the  same  day  it  was  cast  in  the 
year  1753.  Its  fame  is  shown  by  the  old  lines,  which 
enumerate  the  wonders  of  Spain  as  the — 


142  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Campana  la  de  Toledo, 
Iglesia  la  de  Leon, 
Reloj  el  de  Benavente, 
Rollos  los  de  Villalon.'' 

Fifteen  shoemakers  could  sit  under  it  and  draw  out 
their  cobbler's  thread  without  touching  each  other. 
A  legend  relates  that  "the  sound  of  it  reached,  when 
first  it  was  rung,  even  to  heaven.  Saint  Peter  fancied 
that  the  tones  came  from  his  own  church  in  Rome, 
but  on  ascertaining  that  this  was  not  the  case,  and 
that  Toledo  possessed  the  largest  of  all  bells,  he  got 
angry  and  flung  down  one  of  his  keys  upon  it,  thus 
causing  a  crack  in  the  bell  which  is  still  to  be  seen." 

Not  only  does  the  hoarse  croak  of  Gorda's  voice 
remind  the  tardy  worshiper  of  the  approaching 
hour  of  prayer,  but  it  tells  each  and  all  of  the  *'  barrio  " 
where  the  fire  is  raging.  Though  the  prudent  Toledan 
may  not  know  the  art  of  signing  his  name  or  reading 
his  Pater  Noster,  full  well  he  knows,  whenever  Gorda 
speaks,  whether  the  danger  is  at  his  own  door  or  at 
his  neighbor's. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  fagade  between  the  towers 
is  composed  of  a  fine  triple  portal  dating  from  1418 
to  1450,  which,  despite  later  changes,  is  still  an  excel- 
lent piece  of  Gothic  work.  It  contains  over  seventy 
statues.  Above,  the  fagade  is  composed  of  an  orna- 
mental screen  inexpressive  of  the  structure  and  the 
internal  arrangement  of  the  edifice.  A  railing  sepa- 
rated the  *'lonja,"  or  enclosure  immediately  in  front 

»  Bell  of  Toledo, 
Church  of  Leon, 
Clock  of  Benavente, 
Columns  of  Villalon. 


TOLEDO  143 

of  the  entrances,  from  the  street  outside.  The  central 
entrance  is  the  Gate  of  Pardon;  to  the  north  is  the 
Gate  of  the  Tower,  also  called  the  Gate  of  Hell;  to  the 
south  is  the  Gate  of  the  Scriveners  or  of  Judgment. 
The  middle  door  is  the  largest  and  most  important. 
For  centuries  the  steps  leading  to  it  have  been  climbed 
and  descended  by  the  pregnant  women  of  Toledo,  to 
insure  an  easy  parturition. 

The  doors  themselves  are  covered  with  most  inter- 
esting bronze  work,  showing  how  far  the  Spaniards 
had  in  later  centuries  developed  the  art  of  their  skillful 
Saracenic  predecessors.  The  arch  of  the  Gate  of  Par- 
don is  exquisitely  formed  and  its  moldings  and  recesses 
are  prof  usely  decorated  with  finely  chiseled  figures  and 
ornaments.  Each  of  the  three  doors  is  surmounted 
by  a  relief,  that  over  the  Pardon  representing  the 
Virgin  presenting  the  chasuble  to  Saint  Ildefonso, 
who  is  kneeling  at  her  feet. 

The  Scriveners'  Gate  derives  its  name  from  having 
been  the  door  of  entry  for  the  scriveners  when  they 
came  to  the  Cathedral  to  take  their  oath,  but,  though 
they  had  a  gate  for  their  own  particular  use,  they  did 
not  seem  to  enjoy  an  especially  good  reputation. 
According  to  an  old  verse,  their  pen  and  paper  would 
drop  from  their  hands  to  dance  an  independent  fan- 
dango long  before  their  souls  ever  entered  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven. 

Above  the  door  is  an  inscription  commemorative 
of  the  great  exploits  of  the  Catholic  Sovereigns  and 
Cardinal  Mendoza  and  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews 
from  the  Kingdoms  of  Castile,  Aragon  and  Sicily. 

The  principal  feature  above  the  doors  is  a  classical 
gable  which  extends  the  whole  width  of  the  fagade,  its 


144  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

field  filled  with  colossal  pieces  of  sculpture  repre- 
senting the  Last  Supper.  Our  Lord  and  the  Apostles 
are  seated,  each  in  his  own  niche.  It  recalls  the  carv- 
ing over  the  northeast  entrance  of  Notre  Dame  du 
Puy.  Nothing  could  be  more  ineffective  and  out  of 
place  than  to  crown  this  portion  of  the  Gothic  building 
with  a  Greek  gable  end.  Finally,  above  the  gable,  with 
a  curious  pair  of  arches  built  out  in  front  of  it,  comes 
a  circular  rose  almost  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  of  early 
fourteenth-century  work,  this  again  being  surmounted 
by  late  eighteenth -century  Baroque  additions. 

There  are  two  doorways  on  the  south  side.  The 
Gate  of  the  Lions,  which  forms  the  southern  termina- 
tion to  the  transept,  is  of  course  named  from  the  lions 
standing  over  the  enclosing  rail  directly  in  front 
of  it,  each  supporting  its  shield.  Here  you  have  a  bit 
of  the  finest  work  of  the  exterior,  a  most  exquisite 
specimen  of  the  Gothic  work  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. Its  detail  and  finish  are  remarkable,  and  few 
pieces  of  Spanish  sculpture  of  its  time  surpass  it  in 
elegance  and  grace.  The  larger  figures  are  most  in- 
teresting, varying  greatly  in  execution  and  character. 
Those  of  the  inner  arches  are  stiff  and  still  struggling 
for  freedom  from  tradition,  but  of  admirably  carved 
drapery, — while  the  bishops  in  the  niches  to  the  right 
and  left  have  faces  radiating  kindness  and  patriarchal 
benignity,  faces  we  meet  and  bless  in  our  own  walks 
of  life  to-day.  The  bronze  Renaissance  doors  are  as 
fine  as  their  setting,  —  splendid  examples  of  the  metal 
stamping  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  wooden 
carving  on  their  inner  surfaces  is  equally  fine.  The 
bronze  knocker  might  easily  have  come  from  the 
workshop  of  the  great  Florentine  goldsmith. 


TOLEDO  145 

The  Gate  of  La  Liana,  west  of  the  Gate  of  the 
Lions,  is  as  ludicrous  in  its  eighteenth-century  dress 
as  the  gable  of  the  west  fagade. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  church  we  find  three  gates; 
in  the  centre,  forming  the  northern  entrance  to  the 
transept,  the  Puerta  del  Reloi,  and  east  and  west  of  it, 
the  Puerta  de  Santa  Catalina,  and  the  Puerta  de  la 
Presentacion. 


IV 


You  leave  the  outside  with  a  feeling  of  distress  at 
having  viewed  a  patchwork  of  architectural  com- 
position, feebly  decorating  and  badly  expressing  a 
noble  and  mighty  frame.  You  enter  into  a  light  of 
celestial  softness  and  purity.  It  seems  an  old  and 
faded  light.  As  soon  as  you  regain  vision  in  the  cool, 
refreshing  twilight,  you  experience  the  long-deferred 
exultation.  You  are  amid  those  that  pray,  —  the 
poor  and  sorrowing,  those  that  would  be  strengthened. 
Here  voices  sink  to  a  reverent  whisper,  for  curiosity 
is  hushed  into  awe.  "I  could  never  fathom  how  a. 
man  dares  to  lift  up  his  voice  to  preach  in  a  cathedral, 
—  what  has  he  to  say  that  will  not  be  an  anti- 
climax?" says  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  and  you  are 
struck  by  the  force  of  his  remark  when  you  compare 
the  droning  voice  coming  from  one  corner  of  the  build- 
ing with  the  glorious  expression  of  man's  faith  rising 
above  and  around  you.  The  quiet  majesty  and  silent 
eloquence  of  the  one  accentuates  the  feebleness  of 
the  other. 

For  the  interior  is  as  simple  and  restrained  and 
the  planning  as  logical  and  lucid  as  the  exterior  is 


146  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

blameworthy  and  unreasonable.  Here  is  rhythm  and 
harmony.  The  constructive  problems  have  been  in- 
geniously mastered,  and  the  carved  and  decorated 
portions  subordinated  to  the  gigantic  scheme  of  the 
great  monument.  The  sculptures  are  limited  to 
their  respective  fields.  Structural  and  artistic  princi- 
ples go  hand  in  hand.  Eloquently  the  carvings  speak 
the  language  of  the  time, — they  become  a  pictorial 
Bible,  open  for  the  poor  man  to  read,  who  has  no 
knowledge  of  crabbed,  monastic  letters.  They  are  the 
language  of  true  religion,  the  religion  that  may  change 
but  can  never  die. 

The  plan  is  unquestionably  the  grand  feature  of 
the  Cathedral;  the  beauty  and  scale  of  it  challenge 
comparison  with  those  of  all  other  churches  in  Christ- 
endom. The  vaulting  and  its  development,  the  con- 
centration of  the  thrust  upon  the  piers  and  far-leaping 
flying  buttresses  are  unquestionably  on  such  a  scale 
and  of  such  character  as  to  place  it  among  the  mighti- 
est, if  not  the  most  pure  and  well-developed  Gothic 
edifices.  It  is  like  a  giant  that  knows  not  the  strength 
of  his  limbs  nor  the  possibilities  in  his  mighty  frame. 

You  do  not  feel  the  great  height  of  the  nave,  owing 
to  the  immensity  of  all  dimensions  and  the  great  cir- 
cumference of  the  supporting  piers.  The  nave  and 
the  double  side  aisles  on  each  side  are  all  of  seven  bays. 
The  transept  does  not  project  beyond  the  outer  aisles. 
The  plan  proper  has  thus,  at  a  rough  glance,  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  basilica  and  seems  to  lack  the  side  arms 
of  the  Gothic  cross.  The  choir  consists  of  one  bay,  and 
the  chevet  formed  by  an  apse  to  the  choir  of  five  bays. 
Both  aisles  continue  around  the  chevet.  Outside 
these  again,  and  between  the  buttresses  of  the  main 


TOLEDO  147 

outer  walls,  He  the  different  chapels,  the  great  cloister 
and  the  different  compartments  and  dependencies 
belonging  to  church  and  chapel,  —  a  tremendous  de- 
velopment, accumulation,  growth,  —  a  city  in  itself. 
The  cloisters,  as  well  as  almost  all  the  chapels,  were 
added  after  the  virtual  completion  of  the  Cathedral 
proper. 

The  chevet  is  the  keynote  of  the  plan,  and  the 
solution  of  the  problem,  how  to  vault  the  different 
compartments  lying  between  the  three  concentric 
circular  terminations  beyond  the  choir.  Their  vault- 
ing shows  constructive  skill  and  ingenuity  of  the  high- 
est order.  The  architects  solved  the  problem  with  a 
simplicity  and  grandeur  which  places  their  genius  on 
a  level  with  that  of  the  greatest  of  French  builders. 
There  are  no  previous  examples  of  Spanish  churches 
where  similar  problems  have  been  dealt  with  tenta- 
tively. We  are  thus  forced  to  acknowledge  that  the 
schooling  for,  and  consequent  mastery  of,  the  prob- 
lem, must  have  been  gained  on  French  soil.  The 
central  apse  is  surrounded  by  four  piers,  the  two 
aisles  are  separated  by  eight,  and  the  outer  wall  is 
marked  by  sixteen  points  of  support.  The  bays  in 
both  aisles  are  vaulted  alternately  by  triangular  and 
virtually  rectangular  compartments.  The  vista  from 
west  to  east  is  perfectly  preserved,  and  the  distance 
from  centre  to  centre  of  every  second  pair  of  outer 
piers  is  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same  as  that  of  the 
inner  row.  The  outer  wall  of  the  aisles,  except  where 
the  two  great  chapels  of  Santiago  and  San  Ildefonso 
are  introduced,  was  pierced  alternately  by  small, 
square  chapels  opposite  the  triangular,  vaulting  com- 
partments and  circular  chapels  opposite  the  others. 


148  THE    CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

In  the  cathedrals  of  Notre  Dame  de  Paris,  Saint 
Remi  of  Rheims,  and  in  Le  Mans,  we  find  interme- 
diate triangular  vaulting  compartments  introduced, 
but  they  are  either  employed  with  inferior  skill  or  in 
a  different  form.  In  none  of  these  cathedrals  do  they 
call  for  such  unstinted  admiration  as  those  of  the  ar- 
chitect of  Toledo.  They  just  fall  short  of  the  happiest 
solution.  In  Saint  Remi,  for  instance,  we  have  in- 
termediate trapezoids  instead  of  rectangles,  the  inner 
chord  being  longer  than  the  exterior. 

The  seventy -two  well-molded,  simple,  quadripar- 
tite vaults  of  the  whole  edifice  (rising  in  the  choir 
to  about  one  hundred,  and,  in  the  inner  and  outer 
aisles,  to  sixty  and  thirty-five  feet)  are  supported 
by  eighty-eight  piers.  The  capitals  of  the  engaged 
shafts,  composed  of  plain  foliage,  point  the  same  way 
as  the  run  of  the  ribs  above  them.  Simple,  strong 
moldings  compose  the  square  bases.  The  great 
piers  of  the  transept  are  trefoiled  in  section.  The 
outer  walls  of  the  main  body  of  the  church  are  pierced 
by  arches  leading  into  uninteresting,  rectangular 
chapels,  some  of  them  decorated  with  elaborate 
vaulting.  In  the  outer  wall  of  the  intermediate  aisle 
is  a  triforium,  formed  by  an  arcade  of  cusped  arches, 
and  above  this,  quite  close  to  the  point  of  the  vault, 
a  rose  window  in  each  bay.  The  clerestory,  filling  the 
space  above  the  great  arches  on  each  side  of  the  nave, 
is  subdivided  into  a  double  row  of  lancet-pointed 
windows,  surmounted  by  a  rosette  coming  directly 
under  the  spring  of  the  vault. 

The  treatment  of  the  crossing  of  transept  and  nave 
is  in  Toledo,  as  in  all  Spanish  churches,  emphatic  and 
peculiar.    The  old  central  lantern  of  the  cruciform 


TOLEDO  149 

church  was  retained  and  developed  in  their  Gothic 
as  well  as  in  their  Renaissance  edifices,  and  was  per- 
mitted illogically  to  break  the  Gothic  roof  line.  The 
lantern  of  Ely  is  the  nearest  reminder  we  have  of  it 
in  English  or  French  Gothic.  In  Spain  the  "cimborio'* 
became  an  important  feature  and  made  the  croisee 
beneath  it  the  lightest  portion  of  the  edifice.  It  shed 
light  to  the  east  and  west  of  it,  into  the  high  altar 
and  the  choir. 

The  position  of  the  choir  is  striking  and  distressing. 
Its  rectangular  body  completely  fills  the  sixth  and 
seventh  bays  of  the  nave,  interrupting  its  continuity 
and  spoiling  the  sweep  and  grandeur  of  the  edifice 
at  its  most  important  point.  It  sticks  like  a  bone  in 
the  throat.  Any  complete  view  of  the  interior  be- 
comes impossible,  and  its  impressive  majesty  is  be- 
littled. One  constantly  finds  the  choir  of  Spanish 
cathedrals  in  this  position,  which  deprives  them  of 
the  fine  perspective  found  in  northern  edifices.  In 
Westminster  Abbey,  strangely  enough,  the  choir  is 
similarly  placed,  and  there,  as  here,  it  is  as  if  the 
hands  were  tied  and  the  breath  stifled,  where  action 
should  be  freest. 

This  peculiar  position  of  the  choir  was  owing  to  the 
admission  of  the  laity  to  the  transept  in  front  of  the 
altar.  In  earlier  days  the  choir  was  adjacent  to  and 
facing  the  altar,  the  singers  and  readers  being  there 
enclosed  by  a  low  and  unimportant  rail.  The  short, 
eastern  apses  of  the  Spanish  cathedrals  and  the  un- 
developed and  insuflScient  room  for  the  clergy  imme- 
diately surrounding  the  altar  almost  necessitated  this 
divorce  of  the  choir.  In  France  and  England  the 
happier  and  more  logical  alternative  was  resorted  to, 


150  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

of  providing  sufficient  space  east  of  the  intersection 
of  the  transept  for  all  the  clergy. 

The  rectangular  choir  of  Toledo  is  closed  at  the 
east  by  a  magnificent  iron  screen;  at  the  west,  by  a 
wall  called  the  "Trascoro,"  acting  as  a  background 
to  the  archbishop's  seat.  A  doorway  once  pierced  its 
centre  but  was  blocked  up  for  the  placing  of  the 
throne. 

If  the  position  of  the  choir  is  unfortunate,  its  de- 
tails are  among  the  most  remarkable  and  glorious 
of  their  time  and  country.  The  only  entrance  is 
through  the  great  iron  parclose  or  reja  at  the  east. 
This,  as  well  as  the  corresponding  grille  work  directly 
opposite,  closing  off  the  bay  in  front  of  the  high  altar, 
are  wonderful  specimens  of  the  iron-worker's  craft, 
splendid  masterpieces  of  an  art  which  has  never  been 
excelled  since  the  days  of  its  mediaeval  guilds.  The 
master  Domingo  de  Cespedes  erected  the  grille  in  the 
year  1548.  The  framework  seems  to  be  connected  by 
means  of  tenons  and  mortices,  while  the  scrolls  are 
welded  together.  The  larger  moldings  are  formed  of 
sheet  iron,  bent  to  the  shape  required  and  flush- 
riveted  to  their  light  frames.  Neither  the  general 
design  nor  the  details  (both  Renaissance  in  feel- 
ing) are  especially  meritorious,  but  the  thorough 
mastery  of  the  material  is  most  astonishing.  The 
stubborn  iron  has  been  wrought  and  formed  with 
as  much  ease  and  boldness  as  if  it  had  been  soft 
limestone  or  plaster.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  age 
that  the  craftsman  has  not  limited  himself  to  one 
material.  Certain  portions  of  the  smaller  ornaments 
are  of  silver  and  copper.  Originally  their  shining  sur- 
faces, as  well  as  the  gilding  of  the  great  portion  of  the 


TOLEDO  151 

principal  iron  bars,  must  have  touched  the  whole  with 
life  and  color.  It  was  all  covered  with  black  paint  in 
the  time  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  to  escape  the  greedy 
hands  of  La  Houssaye's  victorious  mob,  and  the  gates 
still  retain  the  sable  coat  that  protected  them. 

Even  a  more  glorious  example  of  Spanish  crafts- 
manship is  found  in  the  choir  stalls  which  surround  us 
to  the  north  and  south  and  west  as  soon  as  we  enter. 
Here  we  are  face  to  face  with  the  finest  flowering 
of  Spanish  mediaeval  art.  Theophile  Gautier,  gen- 
eralizing upon  the  whole  composition,  says:  **L'art 
gothique,  sur  les  confins  de  la  Renaissance,  n'a  rien 
produit  de  plus  parfait  ni  de  mieux  dessine."  The 
whole  treatment  of  the  work  is  essentially  Spanish. 

The  stalls,  the  "silleria,"  are  arranged  in  two  tiers, 
the  upper  reached  by  little  flights  of  five  steps  and 
covered  by  a  richly  carved,  marble  canopy,  supported 
by  slender  Corinthian  columns  of  red  jasper  and 
alabaster.  All  the  stalls  are  of  walnut,  fifty  in  the 
lower  row,  seventy  in  the  upper,  exclusive  of  the 
archbishop's  seat.  The  right  side  of  the  altar,  that 
is,  the  right  side  of  the  celebrant  looking  from  the 
altar,  is  called  the  side  of  the  Gospel,  —  the  left,  the 
side  of  the  Epistle.  The  great  carvings,  differing  in 
the  upper  and  lower  stalls  in  period  and  execution,  are 
the  work  of  three  artists.  The  carvings  of  the  lower 
row  were  executed  by  Rodriguez  in  1495,  those  of  the 
upper,  on  the  Gospel  side,  by  Alonso  Berruguete,  and 
those  on  the  side  of  the  Epistle,  by  Philip  Vigarni 
(also  called  Borgona),  both  of  the  latter  about  fifty 
years  later  (in  1543). 

The  reading  desk  of  the  upper  stalls  forms  the  back 
of  the  lower  and  affords  the  field  for  their  sculptural 


iSSt  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

decoration.  The  subjects  are  the  Conquest  of  Granada 
and  the  Campaigns  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  We 
are  shown  in  the  childish  and  picturesque  manner 
in  which  the  age  tells  its  story,  the  various  incidents 
of  the  war,  all  its  situations  and  groups,  its  curious 
costumes,  arms,  shields,  and  bucklers,  and  even  the 
names  of  the  fortresses  inscribed  on  their  masonry. 
We  can  recognize  the  Catholic  monarchs  and  the 
great  prelate  entering  the  fallen  city  amid  the  grief- 
stricken  infidels. 

The  spirit  of  the  work  is  distinctly  that  of  the 
period  which  has  gone  before,  without  any  intima- 
tions of  that  to  come.  It  has  the  character  of  the 
German  Gothic,  recalling  Lucas  of  Holland  and  his 
school.  If  it  has  a  grace  and  beauty  of  its  own,  there 
is  also  a  childish  grotesqueness  without  any  of  the 
self-assured  mastery,  so  soon  to  spread  its  Italian 
light.  The  imagination  and  composition  are  there, 
but  not  the  execution,  —  the  mind,  but  not  the  hand. 

The  carvings  of  the  upper  stalls  were  executed  by 
their  masters  in  generous  rivalry  and  in  a  spirit  that 
shows  a  decided  classic  influence. 

Many  curious  accounts  of  the  time  describe  the 
excitement  which  prevailed  during  their  execution 
and  the  various  favor  they  found  in  the  eyes  of  differ- 
ent critics.  Looking  at  them,  one's  thoughts  revert 
to  that  glorious  dawn  in  which  Cellini  and  Ghiberti 
and  Donatello  labored.  The  inscription  says  of  the 
two  artists,  "Signatum  marmorea  tum  ligna  caelavere 
hinc  Philippus  Burgundio,  ex  adverso  Berruguetus 
Hispanus:  certaverunt  tum  artificum  ingenia;  certa- 
bunt  semper  spectatorum  judicia." 

Berruguete's  work  (on  the  Gospel  side)  shows  dis- 


TOLEDO  153 

tinct  traces  of  Michael  Angelo's  influence  and  his 
study  in  Italian  ateliers  with  Andrea  del  Sarto  and 
Baccio  Bandinelli.^  The  nervous  vigor  of  the  Italian 
giant  and  the  purity  of  style  which  looked  back  at 
Greece  and  Rome,  are  apparent. 

The  subjects  of  Vigarni's  work,  as  also  of  Berru- 
guete's,  are  taken  from  the  Old  Testament.  They 
have  a  more  subtle  charm,  more  grace  and  freedom. 
Some  of  them  show  strength  and  an  unerring  hand, 
others,  delicacy  and  exquisite  subtleness.  Where 
the  Maestro  Mayor  of  Charles  V  is  powerful  and 
energetic,  Vigarni  is  imaginative  and  rich. 

Comparing  the  upper  and  lower  rows  of  panels,  we 
must  see  what  remarkable  steps  had  been  taken  in 
so  short  a  time  by  the  sculptors.  A  lightness  of  execu- 
tion, a  victorious  self-reliance,  seems  to  follow  close 
on  the  steps  of  tentative,  even  if  conscientious,  effort. 
The  carving,  the  bold  relief  of  the  chiseling,  have 
a  vividness  and  intensity  of  expression,  surpassing 
some  of  the  best  work  of  Italy  and  France. 

The  niches  in  the  marble  canopy  above  the  upper 
row  of  stalls  are  filled  with  figures  standing  almost 
in  full  relief,  and  representing  the  genealogy  of  Christ. 

The  outer  walls  of  the  choir  are  also  completely 
covered  with  sculpture.  It  is  thoroughly  Gothic  in 
character,  crude,  and  fumbling  for  expression,  con- 
sisting of  arcades  with  niches  above  containing  alto- 
relievo  illustrations  of  Old  Testament  scenes  and 
characters.  You  recognize  the  Garden  of  Eden,  Abra- 
ham with  agonized  face,  Isaac,  Jacob,  passages  from 
Exodus,  and  other  familiar  scenes.  Many  of  the  panels 

*  He  is  also  the  sculptor  of  the  marvelous  tomb  of  Cardinal  Janera 
in  the  hospital  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  Toledo.  , 


154  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

depict  further  the  small,  everyday  occurrences  and 
incidents  so  loved  by  mediaeval  artists,  and  so  full 
of  earnest,  religious  feeling.  Crowning  it  all,  amid 
the  pinnacles,  are  a  whole  flock  of  angels,  quite  pre- 
pared for  Ascension  Day.  It  is  all  very  similar  to 
the  early  fourteenth-century  work  in  French  cathe- 
drals. 

The  bay  in  front  of  the  high  altar,  forming  with  it 
the  Capilla  Mayor,  and  the  choir  are  closed  from  the 
transept  by  a  huge  reja  as  fine  as  the  one  facing  it, 
and  the  work  of  the  Spaniard  Francesco  Villalpando 
(1548). 1 

The  Capilla  Mayor  originally  consisted  of  the  one 
bay  to  the  east  of  the  transept,  the  adjacent  terminat- 
ing portion  of  the  nave  being  the  chapel  containing 
the  tombs  of  the  kings.  The  great  Cardinal  Ximenez 
received  Isabella's  permission  to  remove  the  dividing 
wall  in  case  he  could  accomplish  the  task  without 
disturbing  any  of  the  monarchs*  coffins.  The  walls 
all  round,  both  internally  and  externally,  are  com- 
pletely covered  with  sculpture.  Many  of  the  figures 
are  faithful  portraits;  many  of  the  groups  tell  an  in- 
teresting story.  On  the  Gospel  side  there  are  two 
carvings,  one  over  the  other,  the  upper  representing 
Don  Alfonso  VIII,  and  the  lower,  the  shepherd  who 
guided  the  monarch  and  his  army  to  the  renowned 
plains  of  Las  Navas  de  Tolosa,  where  the  battle  was 
fought  which  proved  so  glorious  to  Christian  arms. 
One  likewise  sees  the  statue  of  the  Moor,  Alfaqui  Abu 
Walid,  who  threw  himself  in  the  path  of  King  Al- 
fonso and  prevailed  upon  him  to  forgive  Queen  Con- 
stance and  Bishop  Bernard  for  the  expulsion  of  the 

^  The  cost  of  this  reja  was  250,000  reales. 


TOLEDO  155 

Moors  from  their  mosque,  contrary  to  the  king's 
solemn  oath. 

All  around  us  lie  the  early  rulers  of  the  House  of 
Castile,  Alfonso  VII,  Sancho  the  Deserted,  and  San- 
cho  the  Brave,  the  Prince  Don  Pedro  de  Aguilar, 
son  of  Alfonso  XI,  and  the  great  Cardinal  Mendoza. 
Below  in  the  vault  lie,  by  the  sides  of  their  consorts, 
Henry  II,  John  I,  and  Henry  III. 

At  the  end  of  the  chapel,  acting  as  a  background  to 
the  altar,  you  find  a  composition  constantly  met  in 
and  characteristic  of  Spanish  cathedrals.  The  huge 
"retablo"  is  nothing  but  a  meaningless,  gaudy  and 
sensational  series  of  carved  and  decorated  niches. 
It  is  carved  in  larchwood  and  merely  reveals  a  love  of 
the  cheap  and  tawdry  display  of  the  decadent  florid 
period  of  Gothic. 

Back  of  the  retablo  and  the  high  altar,  you  are 
startled  by  the  most  horrible  and  vulgar  composition 
of  the  church.  Nothing  but  the  mind  of  an  idiot 
could  have  conceived  the  "transparente."  ^  It  has 
neither  order  nor  reason.  The  whole  mass  runs  riot. 
Angels  and  saints  float  up  and  down  its  surface  amid 
doughy  clouds.  The  angel  Raphael  counterbalances 
the  weight  of  his  kicking  feet  by  a  large  goldfish 
which  he  is  frantically  clutching.  It  is  a  piece  of  un- 
controlled, imbecile  decoration,  perpetrated  to  the 
everlasting  shame  of  Narciso  Tome  in  the  first  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Nothing  except  the  choir  and  Capilla  Mayor  dis- 

^  "Transparente,"  really  meaning  transparent,  allowing  the  passage 
of  light.  The  composition  took  its  name  from  the  little  closed  glass  or 
crystal  window  placed  directly  back  of  the  altar,  and  which  thus  pierced 
a  portion  of  the  decorated  wall  surface  behind  the  altar. 


156  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

turb  the  simplicity  of  the  aisles  and  the  great  body 
of  the  church.  All  other  monuments  or  compositions 
are  found  in  the  numerous  rooms  and  chapels  leading 
from  the  outer  aisles  or  situated  between  the  lower 
arches  of  the  outside  walls.  There  are  many  of  them, 
some  important,  others  trivial.  The  Mozarabic 
chapel,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  cathedral,  is 
the  one  place  in  the  world  where  you  may  still  every 
morning  hear  the  quaint  old  Visigothic  or  Mozarabic 
ritual  recited.  The  chapel  was  constructed  under 
Cardinal  Ximenez  in  1512  for  the  double  purpose 
of  commemorating  the  tolerance  of  the  Moors,  who 
during  their  dominion  left  to  the  Christians  certain 
churches  in  which  to  continue  their  own  worship,  and 
also  to  perpetuate  the  use  of  the  old  Gothic  ritual. 
It  is  most  curious,  almost  barbaric:  "The  canons 
behind,  in  a  sombre  flat  monotone,  chant  responses 
to  the  officiating  priest  at  the  altar.  The  sound  com- 
bines the  enervating  effect  of  the  hum  of  wings,  whirr 
of  looms,  wooden  thud  of  pedals,  the  boom  and  rush 
of  immense  wings  circling  round  and  round."  It  is 
strange  to  hear  this  echo  a  thousand  years  old  of  a 
magnanimous  act  in  so  intolerant  an  age. 

In  the  eleventh  century  King  Alfonso,  at  the  insist- 
ence of  Bernard  and  Constance,  and  the  papal  legate 
Richard,  decided  to  abolish  the  use  of  the  old  Gothic 
ritual  and  to  introduce  the  Gregorian  rite.  The 
Toledans  threatened  revolt  rather  than  abandon 
their  old  form  of  worship.  The  King  knew  no  other 
method  of  decision  than  to  leave  the  question  to  two 
champions.  In  single  combat  the  Knight  of  the 
Gothic  Missal,  Don  Juan  Ruiz  de  Mantanzas,  killed 
his  adversary  while  he  himself  remained  unhurt.  At 


TOLEDO  157 

a  second  trial,  where  two  bulls  were  entrusted  with 
the  perplexing  diflSculty,  the  Gothic  bull  came  off 
victor.  Councils  were  held  and  the  Pope  still  per- 
severed in  his  determination  to  abolish  the  old  Span- 
ish service  book.  Outside  the  walls  of  the  city,  in 
front  of  the  King  and  churchmen  and  amid  the  entire 
populace  of  Toledo,  a  great  fire  was  built,  and  the  two 
mass-books  were  thrown  into  it.  When  the  flames  had 
died  down,  only  the  Gothic  mass-book  was  found  un- 
scathed. Only  after  many  years,  when  traditions  had 
gradually  altered  and  even  much  of  the  text  had  be- 
come meaningless  to  the  clergy,  did  the  Roman  ser- 
vice book  become  universally  introduced  into  Toledan 
houses  of  worship. 

Two  other  chapels  are  of  especial  interest:  those  of 
Saint  Ildefonso  and  Santiago.  Saint  Ildefonso,  who 
became  metropolitan  in  658,  is  second  only  in  honor 
to  Saint  James  of  Compostella;  he  was  unquestiona- 
bly the  most  favored  of  Toledo's  long  line  of  bishops. 

Three  natives  of  Narbonne  had  dared  to  question 
the  perpetual  virginity  of  Our  Lady.  Saint  Ildefonso 
gallantly  took  up  her  defense  and  proved  it  beyond 
doubt  or  questioning  in  his  treatise  "De  Virginitate 
Perpetua  Sanctae  Mariae  ad  versus  tres  Infideles." 
It  was  a  crushing  vindication  and  a  discourse  of 
much  reason  and  scriptural  light.  Shortly  afterwards 
the  Bishop,  together  with  the  King  and  court,  went 
to  the  Church  of  Saint  Leocadia  to  give  public  thanks. 
As  soon  as  the  multitude  had  had  suflBcient  time  to 
kneel  at  the  saint's  tomb,  a  group  of  angels  appeared 
amid  a  cloud  and  surrounded  by  sweet  scents.  Next 
the  sepulchre  opened  of  its  own  accord.  Calix  relates, 
"Thirty  men  could  not  have  moved  the  stone  which 


158  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

slid  slowly  from  the  mouth  of  the  tomb.  Immediately 
Saint  Leocadia  arose,  after  lying  there  three  hundred 
years,  and  holding  out  her  arm,  she  shook  hands  with 
Saint  Ildefonso,  speaking  in  this  voice,  *0h,  Ildefonso, 
through  thee  doth  the  honor  of  My  Lady  flourish.' 
All  the  spectators  were  silent,  being  struck  with  the 
novelty  and  the  greatness  of  the  miracle.  Only  Saint 
Ildefonso,  with  Heaven's  aid,  replied  to  her.  Now  the 
virgin  Saint  looked  as  if  she  wished  to  return  into  the 
tomb  and  she  turned  around  for  that  purpose,  when 
the  King  begged  of  Saint  Ildefonso  that  he  would  not 
let  her  go  until  she  left  some  relic  of  her  behind,  for 
a  memorial  of  the  miracle  and  for  the  consolation  of 
the  city.  And  as  Saint  Ildefonso  wished  to  cut  a  part 
of  the  white  veil  which  covered  the  head  of  St.  Leo- 
cadia, the  King  lent  him  a  knife  for  that  purpose,  and 
this  must  have  been  a  poniard  or  a  dagger,  though 
others  say  it  was  a  sword.  With  this  the  saint  cut 
a  large  piece  of  the  blessed  veil,  and  while  he  was 
giving  it  to  the  King,  at  the  same  time  returning  the 
knife,  the  saint  shut  herself  up  entirely  and  covered 
herself  in  the  tomb  with  the  huge  stone." 

But  even  this  was  not  a  sujQScient  expression  of 
gratitude  to  satisfy  Saint  Mary,  for  next  week  she  her- 
self came  down  to  enjoy  matins  with  Saint  Ildefonso 
in  the  Cathedral.  She  sat  in  his  throne  and  listened 
to  his  discourse  with  both  pleasure  and  edification. 
A  celestial  host  dispensed  music  in  the  choir,  music 
of  heaven,  hymns,  David's  psalms  and  chants,  such 
as  never  had  been  heard  before,  either  in  Seville  or  in 
Toledo.  To  cap  it  all,  the  Virgin  made  her  favorite 
a  splendid  present  of  a  chasuble  worked  by  the  angels 
with  which  she  invested  him  with  her  own  hands 


Photo  by  J.  I>aco8te,  Madrid 


CATHEDRAL  OF  TOLEDO 
Chapel  of  Santiago,  tombs  of  D.  Alvaro  de  Luna  and  his  spouse 


TOLEDO  159 

before  she  said  good-bye.  You  may  still  kiss  your 
fingers  after  having  touched  the  sacred  slab  upon 
which  the  Virgin  stood  and  above  which  run  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist:  "Adorabimus  in  loco  ubi 
steterunt  pedes  ejus."  The  chapel  is,  similarly  to 
the  screens  around  the  choir,  of  fourteenth-century 
work. 

The  Chapel  of  Santiago  was  erected  by  Count 
Alvaro  de  Luna,  for  more  than  thirty  years  the  real 
sovereign  of  Castile.  It  is  most  elaborately  decorated 
throughout  with  rich  Gothic  work,  interwoven  with 
sparkling  filigree  of  Saracenic  character.  The  tombs 
of  the  Lunas  are  of  interest  because  of  the  great 
Count.  His  own  is  not  the  original  one.  The  first 
mausoleum  which  he  erected  to  himself  was  so  con- 
structed that  the  recumbent  eflSgy  or  automaton 
could,  when  mass  was  said,  slowly  rise,  clad  in  full 
armor,  and  remain  kneeling  until  the  service  was 
ended,  when  it  would  slowly  resume  its  former  pos- 
ture. This  was  destroyed  at  the  instigation  of  Al- 
varo's  old  enemy,  Henry  of  Aragon,  who  remained 
unreconciled  even  after  the  death  of  his  old  minister. 
At  each  corner  of  Alvaro's  tomb  kneels  a  knight  of 
Santiago,  at  his  feet  a  page  holds  his  helmet,  his  own 
hands  are  crossed  devoutly  over  the  sword  on  his 
breast,  and  the  mantle  of  his  order  is  folded  about  his 
shoulders.    His  face  wears  an  expression  of  sadness. 

Alvaro  began  his  career  as  a  page  in  the  service 
of  Queen  Catharine  (Plantagenet).  He  ended  it  as 
Master  of  Santiago,  Constable  of  Castile,  and  Prime 
Minister  of  John  II,  whom  he  completely  ruled  for 
thirty-five  years.  He  lived  in  royal  state,  became 
all-powerful  and  arrogant.    His  diplomacy  effected 


160  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

the  marriage  of  Henry  II  and  Isabella  of  Portugal, 
but  he  later  incurred  the  enmity  of  Isabella,  was  ac- 
cused of  high  treason,  found  guilty,  and  executed  in 
the  square  of  Valladolid.  Pius  II  said  of  him,  "He 
was  a  very  lofty  mind,  as  great  in  war  as  he  was  in 
peace,  and  his  soul  breathed  none  but  noble  thoughts." 

And  thus  we  may  continue  all  around  the  Cathedral, 
past  the  successive  chapels,  vestries,  sanctuaries  and 
treasuries,  —  the  architecture  and  sculpture  of  each 
connected  with  great  events  and  telling  its  own  story 
of  dark  tragedy  or  lighter  romance. 

In  one,  the  Spanish  banners  used  to  be  consecrated 
before  leading  the  hosts  against  the  Moors;  in  an- 
other, Spain  now  keeps  her  priceless  treasures  under 
the  locks  of  seven  keys  hanging  from  the  girdles  of  an 
equal  number  of  canons.  There  are  silver  and  gold 
and  pearl  and  precious  jewels  suflScient  to  set  on  foot 
every  stagnant  Spanish  industry.  The  8500  pearls 
of  the  Virgin's  cape  might  alone  feed  a  province  for 
no  short  time.  They  are  buried  in  the  dark.  Outside 
in  the  light,  the  children  of  Spain  are  starving  and 
without  means  of  obtaining  food.  At  one's  elbow  the 
whine  of  the  beggar  is  continually  heard,  till  one  re- 
calls Washington  Irving's  words:  "The  more  proudly 
a  mansion  has  been  tenanted  in  the  days  of  its  pros- 
perity, the  humbler  are  its  inhabitants  in  the  days  of 
her  decline,  and  the  palace  of  the  king  commonly 
ends  in  being  the  resting-place  of  the  beggar." 

Here  and  there,  in  the  interior  as  in  the  exterior, 
we  find,  mixed  with  or  decorating  the  Gothic,  Moor- 
ish and  Renaissance  details  and  the  later  extrava- 
gances which  followed  the  decline  of  the  Gothic. 
Even  where  the  carvers  are  expressing  themselves 


TOLEDO  161 

in  Gothic  or  Renaissance  details,  we  frequently  ob- 
serve an  extreme  richness,  a  love  of  chiaroscuro,  of 
sparkling  jewel-like  light  and  shade,  and  intricately 
woven  ornamentation  which  betrays  the  influence 
of  the  Arab.  We  see  the  Morisco,  a  kind  of  fusion  of 
French  and  Moorish,  in  many  places.  The  trif  orium  of 
the  choir  is  decidedly  Moorish  in  its  design,  although  it 
is  Gothic  in  all  its  details  and  has  carvings  of  heads 
and  of  the  ordinary  dog-tooth  enrichment  instead  of 
merely  conventionalized  leaf  and  figure  ornament. 
It  consists  of  a  trefoil  arcade.  In  the  spandrels  be- 
tween its  arches  are  circles  with  heads  and,  above 
these,  triangular  openings  pierced  through  the  wall. 
The  moldings  of  all  the  openings  interpenetrate,  and 
the  whole  arcade  has  the  air  of  intricate  ingenuity 
so  usual  in  Moorish  work.  Again,  in  the  trif  orium 
of  the  inner  aisle  we  find  Moorish  influence,  —  the 
cusping  of  the  arcade  is  not  enclosed  within  an  arch 
but  takes  a  distinct  horseshoe  outline,  the  lowest 
cusp  near  the  cap  spreading  inward  at  the  base. 
We  see  Moorish  tiles,  we  find  Moorish  cupolas  as  in 
the  Mozarabic  chapel,  and  Moorish  doorways,  as  the 
exquisite  one  leading  into  the  Sala  Capitular,  — 
here  and  there  and  everywhere,  we  suddenly  come 
upon  details  betraying  the  Arab  intimacy. 

The  children  of  the  Renaissance  also  embellished 
in  their  new  manner,  not  only  in  the  magnificent 
carvings  of  the  choir  but  in  a  variety  of  places,  for 
instance,  the  doors  themselves  contained  within  the 
Moorish  molds  leading  to  the  Sala  just  mentioned, 
the  entire  chapel  of  St.  Juan,  the  Capilla  de  Reyes 
Nuevos,  portions  of  the  Puerta  del  Berruguete,  and 
the  bronze  doors  of  the  Gate  of  the  Lions. 


162  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Again,  on  the  capitals  and  bases  of  many  of  the 
piers,  with  the  exception  of  those  of  the  central  nave, 
Byzantine  influence  may  be  seen. 

So  each  age,  according  to  its  best  ken,  dealt  with 
the  Cathedral.  In  among  the  varying  styles  of  archi- 
tectural decoration,  the  sister  arts  embellish  the  stone 
surfaces  or  are  hung  upon  them.  There  are  paintings 
by  Titian,  Giovanni  Bellini,  and  Rubens,  by  El  Greco, 
Goya,  and  Ribera;  Italian  and  Flemish  tapestries,  and 
frescoes  too.  Probably  the  greater  portion  of  the 
main  walls  were  covered  with  them,  for  here  and  there 
traces  are  still  to  be  seen  and  a  tree  of  Jesse  remains 
in  the  tympanum  of  the  south  transept,  and  near  it  an 
enormous  painting  of  Saint  Christopher. 

While  the  "Tresorio"  may  have  been  the  treasure- 
house  of  the  clergy,  the  church  itself  was  that  of  the 
people.  Here  was  their  art  museum,  here  were  their 
galleries.  The  decorations  became  the  primers  from 
which  they  learnt  their  lessons.  Here  they  would 
meet  in  the  afternoon  hour  as  the  light  fell  aslant 
sapphire  and  ruby,  though  the  clerestory  openings. 
It  would  light  up  their  treasures  with  strange,  un- 
earthly glory  and  form  aureoles  and  haloes  of  rainbow 
splendor  over  the  heads  of  their  beloved  saints.  Cool 
amethyst  and  emerald  and  warmer  amber  and  gold 
touched  the  darkest  corners,  and  a  gold  and  purple 
glory  illuminated  the  high  altar. 

Some  of  the  earlier  glass  is  as  fine  as  any  to  be 
found  in  Europe.  The  depth  and  intensity  of  the 
colors  are  remarkable.  Probably  none  of  it  was 
Spanish,  but  all  was  imported  from  France,  Belgium, 
or  Germany.  The  glass  in  the  rose  of  the  north 
transept  and  in  the  eastern  windows  of  the  transept 


TOLEDO  163 

clerestory  can  hold  its  own  beside  that  of  the  cathe- 
drals of  Paris  and  Amiens.  The  subject  scheme  of 
the  rose  in  the  north  transept  is  truly  noble.  The  ear- 
liest glass  is  that  in  the  nave  (a  little  later  than  1400), 
and  this  is  Flemish.  The  windows  of  the  aisles  are 
at  least  a  century  later.  Their  composition  is  sim- 
ple and  broad,  the  coloring  rich  and  deep,  and  the 
interior  dusk  of  the  church  enhances  the  value  of  the 
sunlight  filtering  through  the  glass. 

Better  than  to  descend  into  the  immense  crypt 
below  the  Cathedral,  with  its  eighty -eight  massive 
piers  corresponding  to  those  above,  is  it  to  stray  into 
the  broken  sunlight  of  the  green  and  fragrant  cloister 
arcade. 

Bishop  Tenorio  procured  the  site  for  the  church 
from  the  Jews,  who  here,  right  imder  the  walls  of  the 
Christian  church,  held  their  market.  A  fresco  ad- 
joining the  gate  explains  by  what  means.  It  repre- 
sents on  a  ladder  a  fiendish-looking  Jew  who  has  cut 
the  heart  out  of  a  beautiful,  crucified  child  and  is 
holding  the  dripping  dagger  in  his  hand.  This  fresco 
stirred  up  the  fury  of  the  Christian  populace  to  the 
point  of  burning  the  Jewish  market,  houses  and  shops, 
which  then  were  annexed  by  the  Bishop.  The  fine, 
two-story  Gothic  arcade  of  the  cloisters  encloses  a 
sun-splashed  garden  filled  with  fragrant  flowers. 
Around  the  walls  of  the  lower  arcade  are  a  series  of 
very  mediocre  frescoes.  The  architecture  itself  is  not 
nearly  as  interesting  as  that  of  the  cloisters  of  Sala- 
manca. It  ought  particularly  to  be  so  in  this  portion 
of  the  church,  for  here  is  the  very  climate  and  place 
for  the  courtyard  life  of  the  Spaniard. 


164  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 


So  lies  the  Cathedral,  crumbling  in  the  sunlight  of 
the  twentieth  century.  Beautiful,  but  strange  and 
irreconcilable  to  all  that  is  around  her,  she  alone,  the 
Mother  Church,  stands  unshaken,  lonely  and  melan- 
choly, but  grand  and  solemn  in  the  midst  of  the  paltry 
and  tawdry  happenings  of  to-day.  She  has  served 
giants,  and  now  sees  but  a  race  of  dwarfs;  princes 
have  prostrated  themselves  at  her  altars,  where  now 
only  beggars  kneel.  Her  walls  whisper  loneliness,  de- 
sertion, widowed  resignation. 

Note.  —  In  connection  with  the  remarks  on  page  160,  a 
Catholic  friend  has  pointed  out  how  rarely,  when  Peter  has  been 
robbed,  ostensibly  to  pay  Paul,  Paul  (otherwise  the  Poor)  has 
derived  any  benefit  from  it.  It  is  willingly  conceded  that  Henry 
VIII  bestowed  much  of  the  wealth  derived  from  the  dissolution 
of  the  religious  houses  on  his  own  favorites,  and  recent  disclos- 
ures in  France  show  as  scandalous  a  diversion  of  some  of  the 
funds  similarly  obtained. 


VI 
SEGOVIA 


VI 
SEGOVIA 

Where  through  the  long-drawn  aisle  and  fretted  vault. 
The  pealing  anthem  swells  the  note  of  praise. 

Gray. 

ONCE  upon  a  time,  long,  long  ago,  in  the  days  of 
the  Iberians,  there  was  a  city  and  its  name  was 
Segovia.  It  is  now  so  old  that  all  of  it,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  great  heap  of  masonry  which  crowns 
its  summit,  has  practically  crumbled  into  a  mountain 
of  ruins.  The  pile  still  stands,  dominating  the  plain 
and  facing  the  setting  sun,  triumphant  over  time  and 
decay,  —  the  Cathedral  of  Saint  Mary  and  Saint 
Froila.  Though  Mary  was  the  holier  of  the  two 
patrons,  owing  to  whose  protection  the  church  stands 
to-day  so  well  preserved,  still  Froila  was  in  certain 
respects  no  less  remarkable.  The  Segovians  of  his 
day  saw  him  split  open  a  rock  with  his  jackknife  and 
prove  to  the  Moslems  then  ruling  his  city,  beyond  all 
doubt,  the  validity  of  his  Christian  faith. 

But  long  before  saints  and  cathedrals,  the  Romans, 
recognizing  the  tenacious  and  commanding  position 
as  a  military  stronghold  of  the  rock  of  Segovia, 
which  rises  precipitously  from  the  two  valleys  watered 
by  the  Erasma  and  Clamores,  pitched  their  camp 
upon  its  crest,  renaming  it  Segobriga.  The  city  was  for- 
tified, and  under  Trajan  the  truly  magnificent  aque- 
duct was  built,  either  by  the  Romans  or  the  devil,  to 
supply  the  city  with  the  waters  of  the  Fonfria  moun- 


168  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

tains.  A  beautiful  Segovian  had  at  this  early  time 
grown  weary  of  carrying  her  jugs  up  the  steep  hills 
from  the  waters  below  and  promised  the  devil  she 
would  marry  him,  if  he  only  would  in  a  night's  time 
once  and  for  all  bring  into  the  city  the  fresh  waters 
of  the  eastern  mountains.  She  was  worth  the  labor, 
and  the  suitor  accepted  the  contract.  Fortunately 
the  Church  found  the  arcade  incomplete,  the  devil 
having  forgotten  a  single  stone,  and  the  maid  was 
honorably  released  from  her  part  of  a  bargain,  the 
execution  of  which  had  profited  her  city  so  greatly. 
Segovia  still  carries  on  her  shield  this  *'Puente  del 
diabolo,"  with  the  head  of  a  Roman  peering  above  it. 

The  strong  position  of  the  city  made  it  an  envied 
possession  to  whatever  conqueror  held  the  surround- 
ing country.  It  lay  on  the  borderland,  constantly 
disputed  with  varying  fortune  by  Christian  and  Mos- 
lem. Under  the  dominion  of  the  early  Castilian  kings, 
and  even  under  the  triumphant  Moors,  the  youthful 
church  prospered  and  grew,  for  in  the  government 
of  their  Christian  subjects,  the  Mohammedans  here, 
as  elsewhere,  showed  themselves  temperate  and  full 
of  common  sense.  The  invaders  had,  indeed,  every- 
where been  welcomed  by  the  numerous  Jews  settled 
in  Spanish  cities,  who  under  the  new  rulers  exchanged 
persecution  for  civil  and  religious  liberty.  Prompt 
surrender  and  the  payment  of  a  small  annual  tax 
were  the  only  conditions  made,  to  confirm  the  con- 
quered, of  whatever  race  or  religion,  in  the  possession 
of  all  their  worldly  goods,  perfect  freedom  of  worship 
and  continued  government  by  their  own  laws  under 
their  own  judges. 

In  the  eleventh  century,  Segovia  was  included  in 


SEGOVIA  169 

the  great  Amirate  of  Toledo,  but  the  Castilian  kings 
grew  stronger,  till  in  1085  they  were  able  to  recap- 
ture Toledo.  The  singularly  picturesque  contours  of 
the  city  are  due  to  the  various  races  which  fortified 
her.  Iberians  were  probably  the  first  to  strengthen 
their  hill  from  outside  attack,  —  the  Romans  fol- 
lowed, building  upon  the  foundations  of  the  old  walls, 
and  Christian  and  Moslem  completed  the  work, 
until  the  little  city  was  compactly  girdled  by  strong 
masonry,  broken  by  some  three  to  four  score  fight- 
ing towers  and  but  few  gates  of  entrance.  Alfonso 
the  Wise  was  one  of  the  great  Segovian  rulers  and 
builders.  He  strengthened  her  bastions,  added  a 
good  deal  to  the  walls  of  her  illustrious  fortress,  and 
in  1108  gave  the  city  her  first  charter.  A  few  years 
later  Segovia  was  elevated. to  a  bishopric. 

Long  before  the  earliest  cathedral  church,  the 
Alcazar  was  the  most  conspicuous  feature  in  the 
landscape,  and  it  still  holds  the  second  place.  Erected 
on  the  steep  rocks  at  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  the 
almond-shaped  hill,  it  stands  like  a  chieftain  at  the 
head  of  his  warriors,  always  ready  for  battle,  and 
first  to  meet  any  onslaught.  Several  Alfonsos,  as 
well  as  Sanchos,  labored  upon  it  during  the  perilous 
twelfth  century.  Here  the  kings  took  up  their  abode 
in  the  happy  days  when  Segovia  was  capital  of  the 
kingdom,  and  even  in  later  times  it  sheltered  such 
illustrious  travelers  as  the  unfortunate  Prince 
Charles  of  England,  and  Gil  Bias,  when  out  of  suits 
with  fortune. 

The  first  Cathedral  was  erected  on  the  broad  plat- 
form east  of  the  Alcazar,  directly  under  the  shadow 
of  its  protecting  walls.   The  ever-reappearing  Count 


170  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Raymond  of  Burgundy  was  commissioned  by  his 
father-in-law,  the  King,  to  repopulate  Segovia  after 
the  Moorish  devastations,  and  he  rebuilt  its  walls, 
as  he  was  doing  for  the  recaptured  cities  of  Sala- 
manca and  Avila.  The  battlements  were  repaired, 
and  northerners  from  many  provinces  occupied  the 
houses  that  had  been  deserted. 

To  judge  from  the  ruins  as  well  as  from  well- 
preserved  edifices,  Romanesque  days  must  have  been 
full  of  great  architectural  activity.  One  is  constantly 
reminded  of  Toledo  in  climbing  up  and  down  the 
narrow  streets,  where  one  must  often  turn  aside  or 
find  progress  barred  by  Romanesque  and  Gothic 
courtyards  or  smelly  culs-de-sac.  Everywhere  are 
Romanesque  portals  and  arches,  palaces  and  the 
apses  and  circular  chapels  of  the  age,  bulging  beyond 
the  sidewalks  into  the  cobblestones  of  the  street.  They 
seem  indeed  venerable.  Some  of  the  old  palaces  pre- 
sent a  curious  all-over  design  executed  in  Moorish 
manner  and  with  Moorish  feeling.  It  is  carved  into 
the  sidewalk,  showing  in  relief  a  geometrical,  cir- 
cular pattern,  each  circle  filled  with  a  quantity  of 
small  Gothic  lancets,  surely  difficult  both  to  design 
and  to  execute.  Some  of  the  old  parish  churches 
stand  with  their  deep  splays,  round-headed  arches 
and  windows  and  broad,  recessed  portals  almost  as 
perfectly  preserved  as  a  thousand  years  ago.  The 
Romanesque  style  died  late  and  hard.  Even  in  the 
thirteenth  century,  the  city  could  boast  thirty  such 
parish  churches.  To-day  they  seem  fairly  prayer- 
worn.  Beyond  their  towers  stretch  the  plains  in  every 
direction,  seamed  by  stone  walls  and  dotted  with 
gray  rocks.    Olive  and  poplar  groves  cluster  round 


KEY  OF  PLAN   OP  SEGOVIA  CATHEDRAL 


A.  Capilla  Mayor. 

B.  Choir. 

C.  Crossing 


D.  Sacristy. 

E.  Cloisters. 

F.  Tower. 


SEGOVIA  171 

the  small  hillocks,  rising  here  and  there  like  camels' 
backs. 

As  long  as  the  welfare  and  development  of  the  city- 
depended  on  strong  natural  fortifications,  Segovia 
remained  intact.  To  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  belongs  her  glory.  Her  power  passed  with 
the  middle  ages  and  their  chivalry,  and  in  the  six- 
teenth century  she  was  a  dead  city. 

Villages,  convents  and  churches  lie  scattered  over 
the  plain,  the  houses  crowded  together  for  protection 
against  the  blazing,  scorching,  pitiless  sun.  Standing 
by  itself  is  the  ancient  and  severe  church,  where 
many  a  knight-templar  kept  his  last  vigil  before  turn- 
ing his  back  on  the  plains  of  Castile,  and  apart  sleeps 
the  monastery  where  Torquemada  was  once  prior. 
They  all  crumble  golden  brown  against  the  horizon. 

Many  a  bloody  fray  or  revolution  upset  the  city 
during  the  middle  ages.  The  minority  of  Alfonso  XI 
witnessed  one  of  the  worst.  The  revolt  which  broke 
'out  in  so  many  of  the  Spanish  cities  against  the 
Emperor  Charles  V,  proved  most  fatal  to  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Segovia. 

The  first  Romanesque  Cathedral  had  been  built 
in  honor  of  St.  Mary,  under  the  walls  of  the  Alcazar, 
during  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century.  It  was 
consecrated  in  1228  by  the  papal  legate,  Juan,  Bishop 
of  Sabina.  Some  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  later, 
a  new  and  magnificent  Gothic  cloister  was  added  to 
it  by  Bishop  Juan  Arias  Davila,  and  likewise  a  new 
episcopal  palace  more  fitting  times  of  greater  luxury 
and  magnificence.  This  palace,  despite  the  coming 
translation  of  the  Cathedral  itself,  remained  the 
abode  of  the  bishops  for  the  three  following  centu- 


17»  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

ries.  In  the  new  cloisters  a  banquet  of  reconciliation 
was  celebrated  in  1474  by  Henry  IV  and  the  Catholic 
Kings.  It  was  held  on  the  very  spot  whence  Isabella 
had  started  in  state  on  a  journey  proving  so  event- 
ful in  the  history  not  only  of  Castile  but  of  the  entire 
Peninsula  and  countries  beyond.  Three  years  after 
the  furious  struggle  which  took  place  around  the 
entrance  of  the  Alcazar,  Charles  V  issued  the  fol- 
lowing proclamation:  — 

"The  King:  To  the  Aldermen,  Justices,  Councillors, 
Knights,  Men-at-arms,  Officials,  and  good  Burghers 
of  the  city  of  Segovia.  The  reverend  Father  in 
Christ,  Bishop  of  the  church  of  this  city,  has  told  me 
how  he  and  the  Chapter  of  his  church  believe  that 
it  would  be  well  to  move  the  Cathedral  church  to 
the  plaza  of  the  city  on  the  site  of  Santa  Clara,  and 
that  the  parish  of  San  Miguel  of  the  plaza  should 
be  incorporated  in  the  Cathedral  church;  and  this, 
because  when  the  said  Cathedral  church  is  placed  in 
a  situation  where  the  divine  services  may  be  more 
advantageously  held,  our  Saviour  will  be  better 
served  and  the  people  will  receive  much  benefit  and 
the  city  become  much  ennobled;  it  appears  to  me 
good  that  this  plan  should  be  carried  out,  desiring 
the  good  and  ennoblement  and  welfare  of  the  said 
city  because  of  the  loyalty  and  services  I  have  always 
found  in  it,  therefore  I  command  and  request  that 
you  unite  with  the  said  Bishop  or  his  representative 
and  the  Chapter  of  said  church  and  all  talk  freely 
together  about  this  and  see  what  will  be  best  for  the 
good  of  the  said  city,  and  at  the  same  time  consider 
the  assistance  that  the  said  city  could  itself  render, 
and  after  discussion,  forward  me  the  results  of  your 


SEGOVIA  173 

combined  judgment,  in  order  that  I  better  may  see 
and  decide  what  will  be  for  the  best  service  of  Our 
Lord,  Ourselves,  and  the  welfare  of  the  city.  Dated 
in  Madrid,  the  2d  day  of  October,  in  the  year  1510.  — 
I,  the  King." 

While  the  discussion  of  the  feasibility  and  expense 
of  commencing  an  entirely  new  cathedral  upon  a  new 
site  nearer  the  heart  of  the  city  was  at  its  height,  the 
revolt  of  the  Comunidades  broke  out,  in  1520,  and 
swept  away  in  its  burning  and  pillaging  course  the 
Romanesque  edifice.  This  stood  at  the  entrance  to 
the  fortress,  where  the  fight  naturally  raged  hottest. 
Only  a  very  few  of  the  most  sacred  images,  relics 
and  bones  were  carried  to  safety  within  the  walls  of 
the  Alcazar  before  the  old  pile  had  been  practically 
destroyed.  Segovia  was  without  a  Cathedral  church. 

In  the  centre  of  the  city,  on  the  very  crest  of  the 
hill,  lay  the  only  clearing  within  the  walls.  Here  at 
one  end  of  the  plaza  was  the  site  of  the  convent  men- 
tioned by  Emperor  Charles,  which  had  long  sheltered 
the  nuns  of  Santa  Clara.  They  had  abandoned  it 
for  other  quarters,  and  the  adjacent  convent  of  San 
Miguel  had  become  unpopular  and  was  dwindling 
into  insignificance.  Both  could  thus  in  this  most  free 
and  commanding  location  give  way  to  a  new  and 
larger  cathedral,  distant  from  what  would  always 
prove  the  rallying  point  of  civic  strife.  Following 
the  mighty  wave  of  revolt  which  had  swept  the  city, 
came  a  great  receding  wave  of  religious  enthusiasm 
to  atone  in  holy  fervor  for  the  impious  act  recently 
committed.  Citizen  and  noble  alike  proposed  to 
build  an  edifice  which  would  be  much  more  to  the 
glory  of  Saint  Mary  than  the  shrine  which  they  had 


174  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

so  recently  pulled  down.  Lords  gave  whole  villages; 
women,  their  jewels;  and  the  citizens,  the  sweat  of 
their  brows.  We  find  in  the  archives  of  the  Cathedral 
the  following  entry  by  the  Canon  Juan  Ridriguez: 

"On  June  8th,  1522,  ...  by  the  consent  and 
resolution  of  the  Lord  Bishop  D.  Diego  de  Rovera  and 
of  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  the  said  church,  it  was 
agreed  to  commence  the  new  work  of  the  said  church 
to  the  glory  of  God  and  in  honor  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
and  the  glorious  San  Frutos  and  all  saints,  taking  for 
master  of  the  said  work  Juan  Gil  de  Hontanon,  and 
for  his  clerk  of  the  works  Garcia  de  Cubillas.  Thurs- 
day, the  8th  of  June,  1552,  the  Bishop  ordered  a  gen- 
eral procession  with  the  Dean  and  Chapter,  clergy  and 
all  the  religious  orders." 

The  corner  stone  was  laid  and  the  masonry  started 
at  the  western  end  under  the  most  renowned  archi- 
tect of  the  age.  Juan  Gil  had  already  worked  on  the 
old  Segovian  Cathedral,  but  had  achieved  his  great 
fame  on  the  new  Cathedral  of  Salamanca,  started 
ten  years  previously,  whose  walls  were  rising  with 
astounding  rapidity.  His  clerk  was  almost  equally 
skilled,  always  working  in  perfect  harmony  with  his 
master  and  carrying  out  his  designs  without  jealousy 
during  the  "maestro's"  many  illnesses  and  journeys 
to  and  from  Salamanca.  Garcia  lived  to  work  on  the 
church  until  1562,  and  the  old  archives  still  hold 
many  drawings  from  his  skillful  hand. 

The  two  late  Gothic  Cathedrals  are  so  similar  in 
many  points  that  they  are  immediately  recognizable 
as  the  conception  of  the  same  brain.  Segovia  is,  how- 
ever, infinitely  superior,  not  only  in  the  magnificent 
development  of  the  eastern  end  with  its  semicircular 


SEGOVIA  175 

apse,  ambulatory,  and  radiating  apsidal  chapels,  as 
compared  with  the  square  termination  of  Salamanca, 
but,  throughout,  in  the  restrained  quality  of  its  detail 
and  the  refinement  of  its  ornamentation.  How  far 
the  abrupt  and  uninteresting  apsidal.  termination  of 
Salamanca  was  Juan  Gil's  fault,  it  is  diflBcult  to  say, 
for  we  find  records  of  its  having  been  imposed  upon 
him  by  the  Chapter  as  well  as  of  his  having  drawn  a 
circular  apse.  Fortunately,  the  Segovian  churchmen 
had  the  common  sense  to  leave  their  architect  alone 
in  most  artistic  matters  and  allow  him  to  make  the 
head  of  the  church  either  "octagonal,  hexagonal,  or 
of  square  form.'*  Where  Salamanca  has  been  coars- 
ened by  the  new  style,  Segovia  seems  inspired  by  its 
fidelity  to  the  old. 

The  similarity  of  the  two  churches  is  visible 
throughout.  The  general  interior  arrangements  are 
much  alike.  The  stone  of  the  two  interiors  is  of  nearly 
the  same  color,  and  the  formation  and  details  of  the 
great  piers  are  strikingly  similar.  There  is  the  same 
thin,  reed-like  descent  of  shafts  from  upper  ribs,  the 
same,  almost  inconspicuous,  small  leaves  for  caps, 
and,  in  both,  the  bases  terminate  at  different  heights 
above  the  huge  common  drum,  which  is  some  three 
feet  high.  Externally,  there  are  analogous  buttresses, 
crestings,  pinnacles  and  parapets,  and  a  concealment 
of  roof  structure,  but  there  is  none  of  the  vanity  of 
Salamanca  in  the  sister  church  of  Segovia.  The  last 
great  Gothic  church  of  Spain,  though  deficient  in 
many  ways,  was  not  lacking  in  unity  nor  sincerity. 
The  flame  went  out  in  a  magnificent  blaze. 

Such  faithfulness  and  love  as  possessed  Juan  Gil 
for  his  old  Gothic  masters  seems  well-nigh  incredible. 


176  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

He  designed,  and  during  his  activity  there  of  nine 
years,  raised  the  greater  portions  of  Segovia  in  an  age 
when  Gothic  building  was  practically  extinct,  when 
Brunelleschi  was  building  Santa  Maria  del  Fiore,  and 
the  classic  revival  was  in  full  march.  Segovia  and 
Spaniards  were  as  tardy  in  forswearing  their  Gothic 
allegiance  as  they  had  been  their  Romanesque.  Not 
until  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  does  the 
reborn  classicism  victoriously  cross  the  Pyrenees,  and 
then  only  in  minor  domestic  buildings.  The  last  man- 
ifestations of  Gothic  church-building  in  Spain  were 
neither  weak  nor  decadent,  but  virile,  impressive  and 
logical.  Segovia  Cathedral  may  be  said  to  be  the  last 
great  monument  in  Spain,  not  only  of  Gothic,  but  of 
ecclesiastical  art.  Thereafter  came  the  deluge  of  de- 
cadence or  petrification.  What  must  not  the  power 
of  the  Church,  as  well  as  the  religious  enthusiasm  of 
the  populace,  have  been  during  this  extraordinary 
sixteenth  century!  It  is  almost  incredible  that  this 
tiny  city,  in  a  weak  little  kingdom,  and  so  few  miles 
from  Salamanca,  had  the  spirit  for  an  undertaking  of 
the  size  of  this  Cathedral  church,  so  soon  after  Sala- 
manca had  entered  on  her  architectural  enterprise. 
Either  of  the  two  seems  beyond  the  united  power  of 
the  kingdom. 

Even  more  remarkable  than  the  starting  of  Segovia 
in  the  Gothic  style  at  so  late  a  date,  was  the  fact  that 
the  architects  succeeding  Juan  Gil,  who  were  natu- 
rally tempted  to  embody  their  own  ideas  and  to  em- 
ploy the  new  style  then  in  vogue,  should  nevertheless 
have  faithfully  adhered  to  the  original  conception  and 
completed  in  Gothic  style  all  constructive  and  orna- 
mental details  everywhere  except  in  the  final  closing 


SEGOVIA  177 

of  the  dome  and  a  few  minor  exterior  features.  Nat- 
urally the  Gothic  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  not 
that  of  the  thirteenth,  —  not  that  of  Leon  or  Toledo, 
nor  even  of  Burgos, — it  had  been  modified  and  lost 
in  spirit,  but  still  its  origin  was  undeniable. 

In  1525  Segovia  was  fairly  started.  House  after 
house  that  impeded  the  progress  of  the  work  was  de- 
stroyed, until  up  to  a  hundred  of  them  had  been 
razed.  Santa  Clara  was  kept  for  the  services  until  the 
very  last  moment,  when  a  suflBcient  portion  of  the 
new  building  was  ready  for  their  proper  celebration. 

It  was  unusual  to  start  with  the  western  end,  the 
apse  and  its  surrounding  arches  being  the  portion 
necessary  for  services.  In  Segovia,  however,  as  well 
as  in  the  new  Salamancan  Cathedral,  the  great  west- 
ern front  was  the  earliest  to  rise.  Gil  did  not  live  to 
finish  it,  but  it  is  evident  that,  as  long  as  he  directed, 
the  work  drew  the  attention  of  the  entire  artistic  fra- 
ternity of  the  Peninsula.  We  find  constant  mention 
in  old  documents  of  the  visits  and  the  praise  of  illus- 
trious architects,  among  them  Alfonso  de  Covarru- 
bias,  Juan  de  Alava,  Enrique  de  Egas,  and  Felipe 
de  Borgofia.  Gil's  clerk-of-the-works,  Cubillas,  suc- 
ceeded him  as  "maestro,"  and  under  him  the  western 
front  with  its  tower,  the  cloisters,  and  the  nave  and 
aisles  as  far  as  the  crossing,  were  virtually  completed 
by  1558.  Aside  from  the  manual  labor,  **it  had  taken 
more  than  forty-eight  collections  of  maravedis"  to 
bring  it  to  this  point.  The  magnificent  old  cloisters 
erected  by  Bishop  Davila  beside  the  old  Cathedral  in 
1470,  had  been  spared  the  fury  of  the  mob,  and  in  1524 
they  were  moved  stone  by  stone  to  the  southern  flank 
of  the  new  Cathedral.   This  would  have  been  a  re- 


178  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

markable  feat  of  masonry  in  our  age,  and,  for  the  six- 
teenth century,  it  was  astonishing.  Not  a  stone  was 
chipped  nor  a  piece  of  carving  broken.  Juan  de 
Compero  took  the  whole  fabric  apart  and  put  it  to- 
gether again,  as  a  child  does  a  box  of  wooden  blocks. 

The  15th  of  August,  1558,  when  the  first  services 
were  held  in  the  Cathedral,  was  the  greatest  day  in 
Segovia's  history.  Quadrado,  probably  quoting  from 
old  accounts,  tells  us,  "The  divine  services  were  then 
held  in  the  new  Temple.  People  came  to  the  festival 
from  all  over  Spain,  and  music,  from  all  Castile.  At 
twilight  on  August  14th,  1558,  the  tower  was  illumi- 
nated with  fire-works,  the  great  aqueduct,  with  two 
thousand  colored  lights,  and  the  reflection  of  the  city  *s 
lights  alarmed  the  country-side  for  forty  leagues 
round.  The  following  day,  the  Assumption  of  Our 
Lady,  there  was  an  astonishing  procession,  in  which 
all  the  parishes  took  part  and  the  community  offered 
prizes  for  the  best  display.  The  procession  went  out 
by  the  gate  of  Saint  Juan,  and,  after  going  all  around 
the  city,  returned  to  the  plaza,  where  the  sacrament 
was  being  borne  out  of  Santa  Clara.  There  was  a  bull- 
fight, pole-climbing,  a  poetical  competition  and  com- 
edies. The  generosity  of  the  donations  corresponded 
to  the  pomp  of  the  occasion.  Ten  days  afterwards  the 
bones  were  taken  from  the  old  church  and  reinterred  in 
the  new  one,  among  which  were  those  of  the  Infante 
Don  Pedro,  Maria  del  Salto,  and  different  prelates." 

The  bones  of  the  two  former  were  laid  to  rest  under 
the  arches  of  the  cloister.  Don  Pedro  was  a  little  son 
of  King  Henry  II  who  had  been  playing  on  one  of  the 
iron  balconies  in  front  of  the  Alcazar  windows,  and, 
while  his  nurse's  back  was  turned,  pitched  headlong 


SEGOVIA  179 

over  the  precipice  into  eternity  and  the  poplar  trees 
three  hundred  feet  below.  The  nurse,  who  knew  full 
well  it  would  be  a  question  of  only  a  few  hours  before 
she  followed  her  princely  charge,  anticipated  her  fate 
and  jumped  after  him.  Maria  del  Salto  ("of  the 
leap  ")  was  a  beautiful  Jewess  who,  having  been  taken 
in  sin,  was  forced  to  jump  from  another  of  Segovia's 
steep  promontories.  Bethinking  herself  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  as  a  last  resource,  she  invoked  her  assistance 
while  in  mid-air,  and  the  blessed  saint  immediately 
responded,  causing  the  Jewess  to  alight  gently  and 
unharmed.  It  was  naturally  a  great  pious  satisfaction 
to  the  Segovians  to  carry  to  the  new  edifice  such 
cherished  bones. 

With  services  in  the  church,  the  building  was  well 
under  way.  Juan  GiFs  son,  Rodrigo  Gil,  had  worked 
on  Salamanca  as  well  as  very  ably  assisted  Cubillas. 
Upon  the  latter's  death,  in  1560,  Rodrigo  became 
maestro  mayor.  Three  years  later,  when  the  corner 
stone  of  the  apse  was  laid,  the  Chapter  seems  to  have 
seriously  discussed  the  advisability  of  finally  deviat- 
ing from  the  original  Gothic  plans  and  building  a 
Renaissance  head.  It  was,  however,  left  to  Rodrigo, 
who  loyally  adhered  to  his  father's  original  designs, 
and  when  he  died  in  1577,  there  was  fortunately  but 
little  left  to  do.  Indeed,  most  of  what  followed  in  con- 
struction, repair  or  decoration  was  rather  to  the  detri- 
ment than  embellishment  of  the  church.  It  was  con- 
secrated in  1580.  Chapels  were  added  to  the  trasaltar 
by  Rodrigo's  successor,  Martin  Ruiz  de  Chartudi; 
the  lantern  above  the  crossing  was  raised  by  Juan  de 
Mogaguren  in  1615;  five  years  later,  the  northern 
porch  was  erected  and  Renaissance  features  invaded 


180  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

the  edifice.  Like  most  Spanish  churches,  it  has  been 
constantly  worked  upon  and  never  completed. 

The  plan  is  admirable,  —  at  once  dignified  and  har- 
monious, and  the  semicircular  Romanesque  termina- 
tion is  striking.  The  total  length  is  some  340  feet,  its 
entire  width,  some  156;  the  nave  is  43  and  the  side 
aisles  are  32  feet  wide.  It  is  thus  logical,  symmetrical, 
and  fully  developed  in  all  its  members.  Beyond  the 
side  aisles  stretches  a  row  of  chapels  separated  from 
each  other  by  transverse  walls.  As  the  transepts, 
which  are  of  the  same  width  as  the  nave,  do  not  pro- 
ject beyond  the  chapels  of  its  outer  aisles,  the  Latin 
cross  disappears  in  plan.  The  nave,  aisles  and  chap- 
els consist  of  five  bays  up  to  the  crossing  crowned 
by  the  great  dome.  Beyond  this  comes  the  vault  of 
the  Capilla  Mayor  and  the  semicircular  apse  sur- 
rounded by  a  seven-bayed  ambulatory,  or  "girola," 
and  an  equal  number  of  radiating  pentagonal  chapels. 
The  chevet  is  clear  in  arrangement  and  noble  in  ex- 
pression. Entrances  lead  logically  into  the  nave  and 
side  aisles  of  the  western  front  and  into  the  centres  of 
the  northern  and  southern  transepts,  while  cloisters 
which  abut  to  the  south  are  entered  through  the  fifth 
chapel.  When  Segovia  was  built,  Spaniards  were 
thoroughly  reconciled  to  the  idea  of  placing  the  choir 
west  of  the  crossing  and  the  Capilla  Mayor  east,  and 
consequently  the  latter  was  designed  no  larger  than 
was  requisite  for  its  oflfices,  and  a  space  was  frankly 
screened  off  between  it  and  the  choir  for  the  use  of  the 
oflSciating  clergy.  The  third  and  fourth  bays  of  the 
nave  contained  the  choir. 

As  one  enters  the  church,  there  is  a  consciousness 
of  joy  and  order.   The  stone  surfaces  are  just  suffi- 


SEGOVIA  181 

ciently  warmed  and  mellowed  by  the  glorious  light 
from  above.  The  piers  are  very  massive  and  semi- 
circular in  plan;  the  foliage  at  their  heads  underneath 
the  vaulting  is  so  delicate  and  unpronounced  that  it 
scarcely  counts  as  capitals.  The  walls  of  the  chapels 
in  the  outer  aisles,  as  well  as  round  the  ambulatory, 
are  penetrated  by  narrow,  round-headed  windows,  as 
timid  and  attenuated  as  those  of  an  early  Roman- 
esque edifice;  the  walls  of  the  inner  aisle,  by  triple, 
lancet  windows;  and  the  clerestory  of  the  nave,  by 
triple,  round-headed  ones.  Under  them,  in  the  apse,  is 
a  second  row  of  round-headed  blind  windows.  None 
of  them  have  any  tracery  whatever.  The  glass  is  of 
great  brilliancy  of  coloring  and  exceptional  beauty, 
but  the  designs  are  as  poor  as  the  glazing  is  glorious. 
In  the  smaller  windows,  the  subjects  represent  events 
in  the  Old  Testament;  in  the  larger,  scenes  from  the 
New.  Around  the  apse  much  of  the  old,  stained  glass 
has  been  shamefully  replaced  by  white,  so  as  to  admit 
more  light  into  this  portion  of  the  building. 

There  is  no  triforium,  but  a  finely  carved  late 
Gothic  balcony  runs  around  the  nave  and  transepts 
below  the  clerestory.  In  the  transepts,  this  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  second  one  underneath  the  small  roses 
which  penetrate  their  upper  wall  surfaces.  Both  nave 
and  side  aisles  are  lofty,  the  vaulting  rising  in  the 
former  to  a  height  of  about  100  feet  and,  in  the  latter, 
to  80  feet,  while  the  cupola  soars  330  feet  above.  The 
vaulting  itself  is  most  elaborate  and  developed. 
While  the  early  Gothic  edifices  have  only  the  requisite 
functional  transverse,  diagonal  and  wall  ribs,  we  now 
find  every  vault  covered  with  intermediate  ones  of 
most  intricate  designs.   Especially  over  the  Capilla 


188  vTHE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Mayor  in  its  ambulatory  chapels  and  around  the  lan- 
tern, this  ornamentation  becomes  profuse,  —  every- 
where ribs  are  met  by  bosses  and  roses.  The  general 
effect  of  the  endless  cutting  up  of  the  vaults  into  num- 
berless compartments  by  the  complicated  system  of 
lierneribs  is  one  of  restlessness.  One  misses  the  logical 
simplicity  of  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries 
and  is  reminded  of  the  decadent  surfacing  of  late 
German  work  and  the  ogee,  lierne  ribs  of  some  of  the 
late  English,  in  which  the  true  ridges  can  no  longer  be 
distinguished  from  the  false. 

Looking  up  into  the  dome  over  the  crossing,  we  see 
that  the  pendentives  do  not  rise  directly  above  the 
four  arches,  but  spring  some  fifteen  feet  higher  up 
above  a  Gothic  balustrade  which  is  surmounted  by 
elliptical  arches  pierced  by  circular  windows.  The 
dome,  disembarrassed  of  the  ribs  which  still  cling  to 
some  of  its  predecessors,  is  finely  shaped,  —  a  thor- 
ough Renaissance  piece  of  work.  Light  streams  down 
through  the  bull's  eye  under  the  lantern. 

There  is  considerable  difference  in  the  design  as 
well  as  workmanship  of  the  many  rejas.  Tremendous 
iron  rails,  surely  not  as  fine  as  those  of  Seville,  Gra- 
nada, or  Toledo,  but  still  very  remarkable,  close  the 
three  sides  of  the  Capilla  Mayor  and  the  front  of  the 
choir.  The  emblematical  lilies  of  the  Cathedral  rise 
in  rows  one  beside  the  other,  as  one  sees  them  in  a 
florist's  Easter  windows.  Rejas  close  off  similarly  all 
the  outer  chapels  from  the  side  aisles. 

Among  the  very  few  portions  of  the  old  Cathedral 
which  remained  intact  after  the  fury  of  the  Comuni- 
dades,  were  the  choir  stalls  and  an  exquisite  door. 
The  former  were  placed  in  the  new  choir  and  the  lat- 


SEGOVIA  188 

ter  became  an  entrance  to  the  transplanted  cloisters. 
It  was  indeed  fortunate  that  these  stalls  were  spared, 
for  they  are  among  the  most  exquisite  in  Spain  and 
excelled  by  few  in  either  France  or  Germany. 

Wood-carving  had  long  been  a  favorite  art  in  Spain, 
one  in  which  the  Spaniards' learned  to  excel  under  the 
skillful  tutelage  of  the  great  masters  from  Germany 
and  Flanders.  The  foreign  carvers  settled  principally 
in  Burgos,  where  there  grew  up  around  them  appren- 
tices eager  to  fill  the  churches  with  statues,  retablos, 
choir  stalls,  and  organ  screens  executed  in  wood.  The 
art  of  carving  became  highly  honored.  An  early  ordi- 
nance of  Seville  referring  to  wood-carving,  masonry 
and  building,  esteems  it  "a  noble  art  and  self-con- 
tained, that  increaseth  the  nobleness  of  the  King  and 
of  his  kingdom,  that  pacifieth  the  people  and  spread- 
eth  love  among  mankind  conducing  to  much  good." 
In  the  numerous  panels  of  cathedral  choir  stalls, 
there  was  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  relief  work 
and  the  play  of  the  fertile  imagination  and  childlike 
expressiveness  of  the  middle  ages.  Curious  freaks 
of  fancy,  their  extraordinary  conceptions  of  Biblical 
scenes,  the  events  and  personages  of  their  own  day, 
could  all  be  portrayed  and  even  carved  with  wonder- 
ful skill.  Leonard  Williams,  in  his  "Art  and  Crafts  of 
Older  Spain,"  tells  us  that  "the  silleria  consists  of  two 
tiers,  the  sellia  or  upper  seats  with  high  backs  and  a 
canopy,  intended  for  the  canons,  and  the  lower  seats 
or  suh-sellia  of  simpler  pattern  with  lower  backs,  in- 
tended for  the  beneficados.  At  the  head  of  all  is 
placed  the  throne,  larger  than  the  other  stalls,  and 
covered  in  many  cases  by  a  canopy  surmounted  by  a 
tall  spire." 


184  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Few  of  the  many  Gothic  stalls  are  finer  than  those 
of  Segovia.  The  contrast  with  the  work  above  them, 
as  well  as  with  that  which  backs  onto  them,  is  doubly 
distressing.  The  tremendous  organs  above  are  a  mass 
of  gilding  and  restless  Baroque  ornamentation,  while 
their  rear  is  covered  by  multicolored  strips  of  stone 
which  would  have  looked  vulgar  and  gaudy  around  a 
Punch  and  Judy  show  and  here  enframe  the  four 
Evangelists.  The  chapels  and  high  altar  are  unin- 
teresting, decorated  in  later  days  in  offensive  taste. 
Apart  from  these  furnishings,  which  play  but  a  small 
part,  it  is  rare  and  satisfying  to  survey  an  interior  in 
which  there  has  been  so  much  decorative  restraint,  in 
which  the  constructive  and  architectural  lines  domi- 
nate the  merely  ornamental  ones,  and  where  harmony, 
severity  and  excellent  proportions  go  hand  in  hand. 
Were  it  not  for  the  cupola  and  a  few  minor  details, 
there  would  be  added  to  these  merits,  unity  of  style. 

The  cloisters  are  rich  and  flamboyant,  but  never- 
theless more  restrained  than  those  of  Salamanca. 
They  are  elaborately  sub-divided,  carved  and  fes- 
tooned, and,  in  the  bosses  of  the  arches,  they  carry 
the  arms  of  their  original  builder,  Bishop  Arias 
Davila.  Just  inside  their  entrance  lie  three  of  the  old 
architects,  Rodrigo  Gil  de  Hontanon,  Campo  Aguero, 
and  Viadero.  The  old  well  in  the  centre  is  covered 
with  a  grapevine,  and  nothing  could  be  lovelier  than 
the  deep  emerald  leaves  dotted  with  purple  fruit 
growing  over  the  white  and  yellow  stonework. 

Few  Spanish  cathedrals  can  be  seen  to  such  advan- 
tage as  Segovia,  its  situation  is  so  unusual  and  for- 
tunate. In  mediaeval  towns  closely  packed  within 
their  city  walls,  there  could  be  but  little  room  or 


SEGOVIA  185 

breathing  space  either  for  palace  or  hovel,  and  the 
buildings  adjacent  to  a  cathedral  generally  nestled 
close  to  its  sides.  The  plaza  of  Segovia  is  unusually- 
large  compared  to  the  area  of  the  little  city.  The 
clearing  away  of  Santa  Clara  and  San  Miguel  and  all 
the  smaller  surrounding  edifices  condemned  for  the 
Cathedral  site,  left  much  room  also  in  front  of  the 
western  entrance  for  a  fine  broad  platform  as  well  as 
an  unobstructed  view  from  the  opposite  side  of  the 
square.  Most  of  the  flights  of  granite  steps  leading  to 
it  from  the  streets  below  are  now  closed  by  iron  gates 
and  overgrown  with  grass  and  weeds.  The  days  of  the 
great  processions  are  past,  when  the  various  trades, 
led  by  their  bands  of  musicians,  filed  up  to  deliver 
their  offerings  towards  the  construction,  and  the 
staircases  are  no  longer  thronged  by  devout  Segovian 
citizens  anxious  to  see  the  daily  progress  of  the  work. 
The  platform  is  paved  with  innumerable  granite 
slabs  which  in  the  old  Cathedral  covered  the  tombs  of 
the  city's  illustrious  citizens,  whose  names  may  still 
be  easily  deciphered. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  fagade  is  bald  and  void  of 
charm.  It  is  neither  good  nor  especially  faulty,  of  a 
certain  strength,  but  without  interest  or  merit.  It  is 
logically  subdivided  by  five  pronounced  buttresses 
marking  the  nave,  side  aisles  and  outer  row  of 
chapels.  Their  relative  heights  and  the  lines  of  their 
roofing  are  clearly  defined.  To  the  north,  a  rather 
insignificant  turret  terminates  the  fagade,  while  to 
the  south  rises  the  lofty  tower,  three  hundred  and 
forty -five  feet  above  the  whole  mountain  of  masonry, 
the  most  conspicuous  landmark  in  the  landscape  of 
Segovia.  It  consists  of  a  square  base  of  sides  thirty- 


186  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

five  feet  wide,  broken  by  six  rows  of  twin  arches;  the 
first,  the  third  and  the  sixth  are  open,  the  last  is  a 
belfry.  The  present  dome  curves  from  an  octagonal 
Renaissance  base,  the  transitional  corners  being 
filled  with  crocketed  pyramids  similar  to  the  many 
crowning  buttresses  and  piers  at  all  angles  of  the 
church  below.  The  dome  and  lantern  are  almost 
exact  smaller  counterparts  of  those  crowning  the 
crossing.  They  were  put  up  by  the  same  architect, 
Mogaguren,  who  certainly  could  not  have  been  over- 
gifted  with  artistic  imagination.  The  tower  had  vary- 
ing fortunes,  —  much  to  the  distress  of  the  citizens, 
it  has  been  twice  struck  by  lightning.  The  wooden 
structure  and  lead  covering  were  burned  and  melted 
by  the  fire  which  followed  the  first  catastrophe,  but 
fortunately  it  was  soon  put  out  by  the  rain  which 
saved  the  Cathedral  and  city.  After  the  second  thun- 
derbolt, in  1809,  the  surmounting  cross  was  replaced 
by  a  lightning-rod. 

The  nave  is  entered  by  the  Perdon  portal,  which, 
under  a  Gothic  arch,  is  subdivided  into  two  elliptical 
openings.  Peculiarly  late  Gothic  railings  here,  as 
elsewhere,  crown  the  masonry  and  conceal  the  tiling 
of  the  sloping  roofs. 

Rounding  the  church  to  the  south,  we  find  the  view 
obstructed  by  the  cloisters  and  sacristy;  only  the 
fagade  of  the  transept,  ascended  from  the  lower 
ground  by  a  flight  of  steps,  remains  visible.  The 
southern  doorway  is  quite  denuded,  and  even  its  but- 
tresses rise  without  as  much  as  a  corbel  to  soften  their 
lines.  When  one  has,  however,  dodged  through  the 
tortuous,  narrow,  malodorous  streets  and  come  out 
opposite  the  apse  and  northern  flank,  the  whole  bulk 


SEGOVIA  187 

of  the  logical  organic  body  of  the  church  becomes  vis- 
ible with  its  larger  squat  and  higher  lofty  domes  tow- 
ering into  the  blue.  To  the  same  Renaissance  period 
as  the  two  domes  belongs  the  classical  portal  of  Pedro 
Brizuela,  leading  to  the  northern  transept.  The  view 
from  the  northeast  is  particularly  fine.  Every  por- 
tion of  the  structure  is  expressed  by  the  exterior 
lines.  One  above  the  other  rise  chapels,  ambulatory, 
apse,  transepts  and  lanterns,  each  level  crowned  by 
its  sparkling  balustrade.  The  sky  is  jagged  by  the 
crocketed  spires  which  terminate  the  flying  but- 
tresses, the  piers  and  the  angles  of  the  wall  surface. 
Here  the  Latin  cross  may  be  seen,  and  the  sub-divi- 
sions of  every  portion  of  the  interior.  There  is  no  de- 
ception nor  trickery.  It  is  simple  and  straightforward. 
Its  artistic  merits  may  be  small,  the  forest  of  carved 
turrets  rising  all  around  the  apse,  tiresome,  but  this 
final  impression  of  Spanish  Gothic  was  thoroughly 
sincere. 


VII 
SEVILLE 


Photo  by  J.  LacOBte,  Madrid 


CATHEDRAL  OF  SEVILLE 
The  Giralda,  from  the  Orange  Tree  Court 


VII 
SEVILLE 

"Wen  Gott  lieb  hat,  dem  giebt  er  ein  Haus  in  Sevilla." 

SEVILLE  is  ever  youthful,  for  the  blood  which 
courses  in  her  veins  absorbs  the  sunlight.  Venice 
is  the  city  of  dreamy  love,  Naples,  of  indolence, 
Rome,  of  everlasting  age,  but  Seville  keeps  an  eternal 
youth. 

What  picturesqueness,  what  color,  what  passion 
blend  with  memories  of  Andalusia! 

All  sunny  land  of  love! 
When  I  forget  you,  may  I  fail 
To  .  .  .  say  my  prayers! 

And  Seville  is  the  queen  of  Andalusia,  of  noble  birth, 
proud  and  beautiful.  Distinctly  feminine  in  her  sub- 
tle, indefinable  charm,  like  a  woman  she  changes  with 
her  surroundings,  and  her  mutability  adds  to  her  fas- 
cination. We  never  fathom  nor  quite  know  her,  for 
she  is  one  being  as  she  slumbers  in  the  first  chalky 
light  of  morning,  another,  in  the  resplendent  naked- 
ness of  noontide,  overarched  by  the  indigo  firmament, 
and  yet  another,  in  the  happy  laughter  of  evening 
when  her  mantle  has  turned  purple  and  her  throbbing 
life  is  more  felt  than  seen.  The  roses,  hyacinths  and 
crocuses  have  closed  in  sleep,  but  the  orange  groves, 
the  acacia,  and  eucalyptus,  jasmine,  lemon,  and  palm 
trees  and  hedges  of  box  fill  the  air  with  heavy, 
aromatic  perfume.  To  the  exiled  Moors  she  was  so 


192  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

sweet  in  all  her  moods  that  they  said,  "God  in  His 
justice,  having  denied  to  the  Christians  a  heavenly 
paradise,  has  given  them  in  exchange  an  earthly  one." 
With  the  oriental  languor  of  her  ancestors,  she  keeps 
the  freshness  and  sparkle  of  the  dewy  morn.  She  is  as 
gay  and  full  of  youthful  vitality  as  her  Toledan  sister 
is  old  and  worn  and  haggard.  While  Toledo  is  sombre 
and  funereal,  Seville  is  alive  with  the  tinkling  of  silver 
fountains,  the  strumming  of  guitars  and  mandolins, 
and  the  songs  of  her  women.  She  lies  rich  and  splen- 
did on  the  bosom  of  the  campagna,  fruitfulness  and 
plenty  within  her  embattled  walls.  "She  is  a  strange, 
sweet  sorceress,  a  little  wise  perhaps,  in  whom  love 
has  degenerated  into  desire;  but  she  offers  her  lovers 
sleep,  and  in  her  arms  you  will  forget  everything  but 
the  entrancing  life  of  dreams." 

Andalusia  and  Seville  justly  claim  an  ancient  and 
royal  pedigree,  which  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
centuries  has  still  left  its  stamp  upon  them.  Anda- 
lusia was  the  Tarshish  of  the  Bible,  whither  Jonah 
rose  to  flee.  Her  commerce  is  spoken  of  in  Jeremiah, 
Isaiah,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Chronicles:  "Tarshish 
was  thy  merchant  by  reason  of  the  multitude  of  all 
kind  of  riches,  with  silver,  iron,  tin,  and  lead  they 
traded  in  thy  fairs"  (Ezekiel  xxvii,  12). 

In  passing  the  Straits  of  Hercules,  Seville  and 
Ceuta  alone  caught  Odysseus'  eye:  — 

Tardy  with  age 
Were  I  and  my  companions,  when  we  came 
To  the  Strait  pass,  where  Hercules  ordain'd 
The  bound'ries  not  to  be  o'erstepp'd  by  man. 
The  walls  of  Seville  to  my  right  I  left. 
On  th*  other  hand  already  Ceuta  past. 

Inferno,  xxvi,  106-110. 


SEVILLE  193 

The  honor  of  founding  the  city  of  Seville  seems  to 
be  shared  by  Hercules  and  Julius  Caesar.  In  the  popu- 
lar mind  of  the  Sevillians,  as  well  as  through  an  un- 
broken chain  of  mediaeval  historians  and  ballad-makers, 
Hercules  is  called  its  father.  Monuments  through- 
out the  city  bear  witness  to  its  founders.  On  one  of 
the  gates  recently  demolished  the  inscription  ran,  — 

Condidit  Alcides,  Renovavit  Julius  urbem. 
Restituit  Christo  Fernandus  tertiua  heros. 

The  Latin  verses  were  later  paraphrased  in  the  Cas- 
tilian  tongue  over  the  Gate  of  Zeres:  — 

Hercules  me  edifice, 
Julio  Cesar  me  cerco, 
de  meno  y  torres  altes 
y  el  rey  santo  me  gano. 
Con  Garei  Perez  de  Vargas.' 

"Hercules  built  me,  Julius  Caesar  surrounded  me  with 
walls  and  high  towers,  the  Holy  King  conquered  me 
by  Garcia  Perez  de  Vargas."  Statues  of  the  founder 
and  protector  still  stand  in  various  parts  of  the  city. 
In  the  second  century  b.  c,  the  shipping  of  Seville 
made  it  one  of  the  most  important  trade  centres  of 
the  Mediterranean.  Phoenicians  and  Greeks  stopped 
here  to  barter.  In  45  b.  c,  Rome  stretched  forth  her 
greedy  hand,  and  Caesar  entered  the  town  at  the  head 
of  his  victorious  legion.  Eighty-two  years  later  the 
Romans  formed  the  whole  of  southern  Spain  into  the 
"Provincia  Baetica."  With  its  formation  into  a  Ro- 
man colony,  Seville's  historical  background  begins  to 
stand  out  clearly  and  its  riches  are  sung  by  the 
ancients.  "  Fair  art  thou,  Baetis,"  says  Martial,  "  with 
thine  olive  crown  and  thy  limpid  waters,  with  the 
fleece  stains  of  a  brilliant  gold."   The  whole  province 


194  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

contained  what  later  became  Sevilla,  Huelva,  Cadiz, 
Cordova,  Jaen,  Granada  and  Almeria.  Seville,  or 
Hispalis,  became  the  capital  and  was  accordingly 
fortified  with  walls  and  towers,  garrisoned  and  sup- 
plied with  water  from  aqueducts  and  adorned  with 
Roman  works  of  art.  After  the  spread  of  Christianity 
during  the  later  Emperors,  Seville  was  important 
enough  to  be  made  the  seat  of  a  bishop. 

With  the  fall  of  Rome,  Hispalis  was  overrun  by 
hordes  of  Goths  and  Vandals.  They  held  possession 
of  the  country  until  they  were  conquered  in  711  by 
the  Moors,  who,  after  crossing  the  strait  between 
Africa  and  Europe,  gradually  spread  northward 
through  the  Iberian  peninsula.  The  Goths  made 
Hispalis  out  of  the  Roman  Hispalia,  and  the  Ara- 
bians in  their  turn,  unable  to  pronounce  the  p,  formed 
the  name  into  Ixbella,  of  which  the  Castilians  made 
Seville. 

To  the  Moors,  Andalusia  was  the  Promised  Land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  What  was  lacking, 
their  genius  and  husbandry  soon  supplied.  The  land 
which  they  found  uncultivated  soon  became  a  garden 
filled  with  exotic  flowers  and  rich  fruits,  while  they 
adorned  its  cities  with  the  noblest  monuments  of 
their  taste  and  intelligence.  They  divided  their  ter- 
ritory (el  Andalus)  into  the  four  kingdoms  of  Seville, 
Cordova,  Jaen,  and  Granada,  which  still  exist  as 
territorial  divisions.  To-day  the  three  latter  contain 
only  the  ruins  of  a  great  past.  Seville  alone  remains  in 
many  respects  a  perfectly  Moorish  city.  Her  courts, 
her  squares,  the  streets  and  houses,  the  great  palace 
and  the  tower  are  essentially  Arabian  and  bear  wit- 
ness to  the  magnificence  of  her  ancient  masters. 


KEY 

OF 

PLAN  OF  SEVILLE   CAl 

^HE 

DRAL 

A. 

The  Giralda. 

I.    The  Sagrario. 

Q. 

Puerta  Mayor. 

B. 

Royal  Chapel. 

J.    Portal  of  the  Orange  Trees. 

K. 

Portal  of  the  Xacimiento. 

C. 

Chapter  House. 

K.  Choir. 

S. 

Trascoro. 

D. 

Sacristy. 

L.    Capilla  Mayor. 

T. 

Dependencias  de  la  Her- 

K. 

Old  Sacristy. 

M.  Portal  of  the  Lonja  (San  Cris- 

niandad. 

K. 

Colombina  Library. 

tobal). 

U. 

Portal  of  the  Sagrario. 

(}. 

Portal  of  the  Perdon. 

X.   Portal  of  the  Palos. 

V. 

Portal  of  the  Lagarto. 

H. 

Courtyard  of  the  Orange 

().    Portal  of  the  Campanillas. 

X. 

Tomb  of  Fernando  Colon. 

Trees. 

P.    Portal  of  the  Bautismo. 

SEVILLE  195 

They  had  lost  all  the  rest  of  Spain  except  Granada 
before  Cordova  and  Jaen  surrendered,  and  finally 
Seville  fell  into  the  hands  of  Ferdinand  III  of  Castile 
in  1248,  and  its  Christian  period  began.  Three  hun- 
dred thousand  followers  of  the  detested  faith  were 
banished  from  Seville,  and  slowly  the  power  of  the 
Catholic  Church  began  to  rise  and  the  agricultural 
beauty  and  industry  of  the  surrounding  province  to 
wane. 

The  city  was  divided  into  separate  districts  for  the 
different  races,  the  canals  were  dammed  up,  the  water- 
works fell  to  pieces,  the  valley  was  left  untilled,  and 
fruit  trees  were  unpruned  and  unwatered.  Hides 
bleached  in  the  sun  and  webs  rotted  on  the  looms, 
sixty  thousand  of  which  had  woven  beautiful  silk 
fabrics  in  the  palmy  days  of  the  Moors. 

Ferdinand  the  Holy  was  a  great  king,  of  a  saintli- 
ness  and  greatness  still  acknowledged  by  the  soldiers 
of  Seville.  After  eight  centuries  they  still  lower  their 
colors  as  they  march  past  the  great  shrine  of  the  Third 
Ferdinand,  in  the  church  which  he  purged  from 
Mohammedanism  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
the  Christians'  God  and  the  Holy  Virgin. 

After  him,  Seville  became  the  theatre  of  moment- 
ous deeds  and  events  that  had  a  far-reaching  influ- 
ence on  the  history  of  the  country.  Into  her  lap  was 
poured  the  riches  of  the  New  World;  within  her  halls 
Queen  Isabella  laid  the  foundation  of  her  united  king- 
dom; from  Seville  came  the  intellectual  stimulus  that 
revived  the  arts  and  letters  of  the  whole  Peninsula. 
Here  were  bom  and  labored  Pedro  Campaiia,  Alejo 
Fernandez,  Luis  de  Vagas,  the  several  Herreras, 
Francisco  de  Zurbaran,  Alfonso  Cano,  Diego  de  Silva 


196  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Velasquez,  Bartolome  Esteban  Murillo,  and  Miguel 
Florentino.  The  riches  of  the  western  world  made 
of  Seville  a  second  Florence,  where  art  found  ready 
patrons,  and  literature,  cultivated  protectors.  She 
rivaled  the  great  schools  of  Italy  and  the  Nether- 
lands, but  out  of  her  secret  council  chambers  came 
the  Institution  of  the  Holy  OjEce,  the  scourge  that 
withered  the  nation.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  forty-five  thousand  people  were  put  to  death 
in  the  archbishopric  of  Seville.  Finally,  under  Philip 
II,  Seville  and  her  great  church  rose  to  stupendous 
wealth  and  power. 

"When  Philip  II  died,  loyal  Seville  honored  the 
departed  king  by  a  magnificent  funeral  service  in  the 
Cathedral.  A  tremendous  monument  was  designed 
by  Oviedo.  On  Nov.  25th,  1598,  the  mourning  mul- 
titude flocked  to  the  dim  Cathedral  while  the  people 
knelt  upon  the  stones,  and  the  solemn  music  floated 
through  the  air.  There  was  a  disturbance  among  a 
part  of  the  congregation.  A  man  was  charged  with 
deriding  the  imposing  monument  and  creating  dis- 
order. He  was  a  tax-gatherer  and  ex-soldier  of  the 
city  named  Don  Miguel  de  Cervantes  Saavedra. 
Some  of  the  citizens  took  his  side,  for  there  was  a  feud 
between  the  civil  and  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  in 
Seville.  The  brawler  was  expelled  from  the  cathedral, 
—  but  he  had  his  revenge.  He  composed  a  satirical 
poem  upon  the  tomb  of  the  King  which  was  read 
everywhere  in  the  city:  — 

To  the  Monument  of  the  King  of  Seville 
I  vow  to  God  I  quake  with  surprise, 
Could  I  describe  it,  I  would  give  a  crown, 
And  who,  that  gazes  on  it  in  the  town 


SEVILLE  197 

But  starts  aghast  to  see  its  wondrous  size; 
Each  part  a  million  cost,  I  should  devise: 
What  pity  't  is,  ere  centuries  have  flown, 
Old  time  will  mercilessly  cast  it  down! 
Thou  rival'st  Rome,  O  Seville,  in  my  eyes! 
I  bet,  the  soul  of  him  who 's  dead  and  blest. 
To  dwell  within  this  sumptuous  monument. 
Has  left  the  seats  of  sempiternal  rest! 
A  fellow  tall,  on  deeds  of  valour  bent. 
My  exclamation  heard.   "Bravo,"  he  cried, 
"Sir  Soldier,  what  you  say  is  true,  I  vow! 
And  he  who  says  the  contrary  has  lied!" 
With  that  he  pulls  his  hat  upon  his  brow. 
Upon  his  sword-hilt  he  his  hand  doth  lay, 
And  frowns  —  and  —  nothing  does,  but  walks  away !  "  * 

Far  more  ineffaceable  even  than  the  record  left  by 
Philip's  life  upon  the  history  of  Seville  and  Spain  is 
that  of  this  immortal  soldier  and  scribbler,  who  "be- 
lieved he  had  found  something  better  to  do  than 
writing  comedies." 

The  soft,  sonorous  syllables  of  Guadalquiver  (from 
the  Arabic  Wad-el-Kebir,  or  The  Great  River)  would 
picture  to  the  imaginative  eye  a  river  far  more  poetic 
than  the  sluggish  stream  that  loiters  across  the  wide 
plain  and  fruitful  valley  until  it  pierces  the  amber 
girdle  of  crenelated  walls  and  embattled  towers  which 
enclose  the  treasures  of  Seville.  On  its  broad  bosom 
have  swept  the  barks  and  galleys  of  Phoenicia  and 
Greece,  of  Roman,  Goth,  and  Moor.  On  its  shores 
Columbus  lowered  the  sails  of  his  caravel  and  pre- 
sented Spain  with  a  new  world  on  Palm  Sunday, 
1493;  Pizarro  and  Cortez  here  first  embarked  their 
greedy  and  daring  adventurers;  hither  Pizarro  re- 
turned with  hoards  of  gold  and  silver  treasures  from 
Mexico  and  Peru,  for  the  Council  of  the  Indies  re- 

'  From  William  Gallichaa's  Story  of  Semlle. 


198  THE  CATHEDRA.LS  OF  SPAIN 

stricted  all  the  trade  of  the  colonies  to  the  port  of 
Seville.  The  valley  through  which  the  river  descends 
is  sheltered  from  the  cold  tablelands  lying  northward 
by  the  Sierra  Morena  chain.  Gray  olive  trees,  waving 
pastures,  and  fields  of  grain  cover  its  slopes.  A  soft, 
tempered  wind  whispers  through  the  grassy  meadows 
of  La  Tierra  de  Maria  Santissima,  and  the  atmosphere 
is  so  dry  and  clear  that  far  away  against  the  horizon 
objects  stand  out  in  clear  silhouette.  So  vivid  are  the 
colors  that  the  smoky  olive  groves,  the  orange  and 
lemon-colored  walls,  the  fir  trees,  the  chalky  white  of 
the  stucco,  the  fleshy,  prickly  leaves  of  the  cacti,  and 
the  tall  standards  of  the  aloes  seem  photographed  on 
the  brain. 

In  a  fair  and  fruitful  land  lies  the  city,  and  her  spires 
pierce  a  smokeless,  unspotted  sky. 

In  the  heart  of  the  city,  set  down  in  the  very  centre 
of  her  life  of  song  and  laughter  and  childish  simplicity, 
surrounded  by  crooked  streets  and  great  airy  courts, 
in  the  widest  sunlit  square,  lies  her  Cathedral. 

The  first  impression  made  by  a  building  is  gener- 
ally not  only  the  most  distinct  but  the  truest.  That 
produced  by  Seville's  Cathedral  is  its  immensity  of 
scale. 

Toledo  la  rica, 
Salamanca  la  fuerta, 
Leon  la  bella, 
Oviedo  la  sacra, 
Sevilla  la  grande, 

runs  the  Spanish  saying.  The  size  is  overpowering. 
Each  of  the  four  side  aisles  is  nearly  as  broad  and 
high  as  the  nave  of  Westminster  Abbey,  while  the 
arcades  of  Seville's  nave  have  twice  the  span.  To  the 


SEVILLE  199 

impressionable  sensitiveness  of  Theophile  Gautier  it 
was  like  a  mountain  scooped  out,  a  valley  turned 
topsy-turvy.  Notre  Dame  de  Paris  might  walk  erect 
under  the  frightful  height  of  the  middle  nave;  pillars 
as  large  as  towers  appear  so  slender  that  you  catch 
your  breath  as  you  look  up  at  the  far-away,  vaulted 
roof  they  support. 

Here  are  the  first  impressions  of  two  early  Spanish 
writers.  Cean  Bermudez  finds  that,  "seen  from  a 
certain  distance,  it  resembles  a  high-pooped  and  be- 
flagged  ship,  rising  over  the  sea  with  harmonious 
grouping  of  sails,  pennons,  and  banners,  and  with  its 
mainmast  towering  over  the  mizzenmast,  foremast, 
and  bowsprit."  Caveda  is  struck  by  "the  general 
effect,  which  is  truly  majestic.  The  openwork  para- 
pets which  crown  the  roofs;  the  graceful  lanterns  of 
the  eight  winding  stairs  that  ascend  in  the  corners  to 
the  vaults  and  galleries;  the  flying  buttresses  that 
spring  lightly  from  aisle  to  nave,  as  the  jets  of  a  cas- 
cade from  cliff  to  cliff;  the  slender  pinnacles  that  cap 
them;  the  proportions  of  the  arms  of  the  transept  and 
of  the  buttresses  supporting  the  side  walls;  the  large 
pointed  windows  to  which  they  belong,  rising  over 
each  other,  the  pointed  portals  and  entrances,  —  all 
these  combine  in  an  almost  miraculous  effect,  al- 
though they  lack  the  wealth  of  detail,  the  airy  grace, 
and  the  delicate  elegance  that  characterize  the  cathe- 
drals of  Leon  and  Burgos." 

Such  are  the  varying  impressions  of  ancient  critics. 
To  the  student's  question,  "To  what  period  of  archi- 
tecture does  the  Cathedral  of  Seville  belong .f^"  we 
must  answer,  "To  no  period,  or  rather  to  half  a 
dozen."   Authorities  and  writers  will  give  completely 


200  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

different  information,  and  Seville  has  found  more 
willing  and  loving  chroniclers  than  any  other  of 
Spain's  churches.  Gallichan  classes  it  as  the  "lar- 
gest Gothic  cathedral  in  the  world,"  and  Caveda  calls 
it  "a  type  of  the  finest  Spanish  Gothic  architecture." 
The  interior  of  the  main  body  of  the  church  is 
pure,  severe  Gothic,  the  sacristy  major,  highly  de- 
veloped Renaissance;  the  main  portions  of  the  exte- 
rior are  what  might  be  termed  for  want  of  a  better 
word  "Spanish  Renaissance  —  plateresco";  other 
details  are  Moorish,  classical,  late  florid  Gothic,  ro- 
coco, and  so  forth.  As  if  to  add  to  the  incongruity  of 
the  architectural  hodge-podge,  it  is  surrounded  by 
shafts  of  old  Roman  columns  as  well  as  Byzantine 
pillars  from  the  original  mosque,  sunk  deep  into  the 
ground  and  connected  with  iron  chains.  The  total 
impression  to  any  student  of  architecture  is  one  of 
outraged  law  and  order,  composition  and  unity.  Re- 
calling the  carefully  membered  and  distinctly  devel- 
oped plan  of  the  great  Gothic  churches  of  France,  the 
expressive  exteriors  of  the  huge  Renaissance  cathe- 
drals of  Italy,  the  satisfying  perspective  of  English 
monastic  temples,  one  feels  the  hopelessness  of  at- 
tempting a  comparison  between  this  huge,  impressive 
undertaking  and  any  accepted  standards  or  schools. 
It  is  something  so  entirely  different  and  apart,  a 
mighty  and  unbridled  effort  which  cannot  be  classi- 
fied nor  grouped  with  other  churches,  nor  studied  by 
methods  of  earlier  architectural  training.  It  is  full  of 
romance,  —  a  building  romantic  as  the  Cid,  a  child 
of  architectural  fervor  or  even  architectural  furor. 
Centuries  of  Spanish  history  and  religion  and  the 
various  temperaments  of  different  and  inspired  races 


SEVILLE  201 

have  created  it  and  fostered  its  growth.  Like  many  of 
its  sister  churches,  the  artisans  that  labored  on  it 
were  gathered  from  different  lands  and  their  work 
stretches  through  centuries  of  time  and  architectural 
thought.  There  is  the  sparkling,  oriental  fancy  of  the 
Mudejar,  the  classic  training  of  the  Italian,  the  bril- 
liant color  and  technique  of  the  Fleming  and  Dutch- 
ms^n,  the  skilled  and  masterful  chiseling  of  the  Ger- 
man, and  the  restless  pride  and  domination  of  the 
Spaniard.  You  find  it  expressed  in  every  way,  —  on 
canvas,  in  wood  and  clay  and  stone,  on  plaster  and  in 
glass.  It  is  a  museum  of  art  from  the  fifteenth  to  the 
nineteenth  centuries,  with  portions  still  waiting  for 
the  work  of  the  twentieth.  The  artists  range  from 
Juan  Sanches  de  Castro,  "the  morning  star  of  Anda- 
lusia," in  1454,  to  Francisco  Goya,  the  last  of  the 
great  Spanish  painters. 

It  is  colossal,  incongruous,  mysterious,  and  elusive. 
It  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  middle  ages  with  all  their 
piety  and  loyalty  to  church  and  crown,  and  their  un- 
paralleled ardor  in  building  religious  temples.  Gazing 
at  it,  you  feel  the  same  religious  fervor  that  flung  the 
arches  of  Amiens  and  Chartres  high  into  the  northern 
air  and  rounded  the  dome  of  Santa  Maria  del  Fiore 
under  Lombardy's  azure  vault. 

If  you  stand  in  the  Calle  del  Gran  Capitan,  or 
better,  the  Plaza  del  Triumfo,  best  of  all,  near  the 
gateway  of  the  Patio  de  las  Banderas,  where  the 
Cathedral  and  the  Giralda  pile  up  in  front  of  you, 
unquestionably  you  have  before  you  Spain's  mighti- 
est architectural  work,  a  sight  as  impressive  as  the 
view  from  the  marble  pavement  of  the  Piazzetta  by 
the  Adriatic. 


202  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

The  lofty  tower  is  entirely  oriental.  The  walls  of 
the  Cathedral  which  rise  from  a  broad  paved  terrace 
consist  below  of  a  classical  screen,  whose  surface  is 
broken  by  a  Corinthian  order  carrying  a  Renaissance 
balustrade  and  topped  by  heavy,  meaningless  stone 
terminations.  Windows  with  Italian  Renaissance 
frames  pierce  the  ochre  masonry.  Above  rises  a  con- 
fusion of  buttresses,  kettle-shaped  domes,  and  Renais- 
sance lanterns,  simple,  massive  walls,  some  portions 
entirely  bare,  others  overloaded  with  delicate  Gothic 
interlacings  full  of  Spanish  feeling;  flowers  and  ro- 
settes, broad  blazons  and  coats-of-arms,  —  above  all, 
a  forest  of  Gothic  towers,  finials,  crockets,  parapets, 
and  rails  peculiarly  Spanish  in  carving  and  treatment. 
There  is  practically  no  sky  line.  The  interior  of  the 
nave  and  aisle  vaulting  are  entirely  concealed  exter- 
nally by  the  parapets  and  walls. 

So  lacking  in  sobriety  is  the  first  view !  —  but  you 
are  ready  to  echo  the  Spanish  saying,  — 

Quien  no  ha  visto  Sevilla 
No  ha  visto  mara villa,  ^ 

or  the  words  of  Pope,  ^^  There  stands  a  structure  of 
majestic  fame!" 

The  Spanish  Christians  in  Seville,  like  those  who 
obtained  possession  of  other  Moorish  strongholds, 
first  appropriated  the  old  Arab  mosque  for  their 
house  of  worship.  Later,  when  it  no  longer  sufficed, 
they  and  their  fellow-believers  elsewhere  built  the 
new  cathedral  on,  around,  or  adjacent  to,  the  old  con- 
secrated walls.  Like  all  other  churches  from  which 
Islam  had  been  driven,  the  great  mosque  of  Seville 

^  He  who  has  not  seen  Seville, 
Has  not  seen  a  marvel. 


SEVILLE  203 

was  dedicated  to  Santa  Maria  de  la  Sede.  The  fa- 
mous Moorish  conqueror,  Abu  Jakub  Jusuf,  had  laid 
the  foundation  stones  of  his  mosque  and  tower  in 
1171,  building  his  walls  with  the  materials  left  by 
imperial  Rome,  and  laying  out  orange  courtyard  and 
walls  in  a  manner  befitting  his  power  and  the  tradi- 
tions of  his  race.  It  belongs  to  what  architectural 
writers  have  for  convenience  called  the  second  period 
of  the  Spanish  Arabs,  between  1146  and  about  1250, 
under  the  Almohaden  dynasty.  This  was  the  period 
of  the  Moors'  greatest  constructive  energy, — they 
no  longer  blindly  copied  the  ancient  architecture  of 
Byzantium,  but  endeavored  to  create  a  bold  and  in- 
dependent art  of  their  own. 

After  the  capture  of  Seville  in  1248,  Ferdinand  at 
once  consecrated  the  mosque  to  Christian  service,  and 
it  was  used  without  alteration  until  it  began  to  crum- 
ble. Its  general  plan  was  probably  very  much  like  the 
one  in  Cordova,  a  great  rectangle  filled  with  a  forest 
of  columns:  its  high  walls  of  brick  and  clay  supported 
by  buttresses  and  crowned  with  battlements  enclosed 
an  adjacent  courtyard  with  fountain  and  rows  of 
orange  trees,  abutted  by  the  bell  or  prayer  tower. 
The  courtyard  and  tower  remain  with  but  slight 
changes  or  additions;  portions  of  the  foundation  walls, 
the  northeast  and  west  porticos,  decorative  details 
and  ornamentation  still  to  be  found  on  the  Christian 
church  are  all  Moorish.  The  plan  and  general  struc- 
ture have  been  restricted  by  the  lines  of  the  old 
Moorish  foundations.  There  are  no  documents  ex- 
tant that  give  a  trustworthy  account  of  what  portions 
of  the  old  mosque  were  allowed  to  remain  when  the 
Christians  finally  decided  to  rebuild,  but  the  most 


204  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

cursory  glance  at  the  outline  of  the  Cathedral  shows 
how  organically  it  has  been  bound  by  what  was  re- 
tained. The  mosque  must  have  been  built  on  as  large 
and  magnificent  a  scale  as  the  one  which  still  amazes 
us  in  Cordova.  The  peculiar,  oblong,  quadrilateral 
form  was  probably  common  to  both. 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1401,  the  Cathedral  Chapter 
issued  the  challenge  to  the  Catholic  world  which  to 
the  more  practical  piety  of  to-day  rings  with  a  true 
mediseval  fervor.  Verily  a  faith  that  could  remove 
mountains!  The  inspired  Chapter  proclaimed  they 
could  build  a  church  of  such  size  and  beauty  that 
coming  ages  should  call  them  mad  to  have  under- 
taken it.  And  their  own  fat  pockets  were  the  first  to 
be  emptied  of  half  their  stipends.  The  pennies  of  the 
poor,  grants  from  the  crown,  indulgences  published 
throughout  the  kingdom,  all  went  to  satisfy  the  ever- 
grasping  building  fund. 

In  1403  the  work  of  tearing  down  and  commencing 
afresh  on  the  old  foundations  was  begun.  These  mea- 
sured about  some  415  feet  in  length  by  278  feet  in 
width.  The  old  mosque  or  the  present  church  proper 
is  now  only  the  central  edifice  in  a  rectangle  of  about 
600  by  500  feet.  This  is  the  size  of  a  village,  with  its 
courts,  its  tower,  the  great  library  of  the  Cathedral 
Chapter  where  books  were  collected  from  all  over  the 
lettered  world  by  the  son  of  Columbus,  the  parroquia 
or  parish  church,  the  endless  row  of  chapels,  some 
larger  than  ordinary  churches,  the  sacristy,  the  chap- 
ter house  and  offices.  It  became  the  largest  church  of 
the  middle  ages,  covering  124,000  square  feet;  Milan 
covers  only  90,000,  Toledo,  75,000,  and  Saint  Paul's 
in  London,  84,000.  Among  the  churches  of  all  ages, 


SEVILLE  205 

Saint  Peter's,  with  an  area  of  162,000  square  feet, 
alone  exceeds  it  in  size. 

In  1506,  under  the  archbishops  Alfonso  Rodriguez 
and  Gonzalo  de  Rojas,  the  building  was  completed. 
For  a  century  the  work  had  been  carried  on  with  such 
reckless  haste  that  inferior  building  methods  had 
been  employed,  which  led  to  subsequent  disasters. 
On  December  28,  1511,  to  the  consternation  of  the 
devout  workmen,  the  great  central  dome  fell  in  during 
an  earthquake,  carrying  with  it  or  weakening  many  of 
the  vaults  and  much  of  the  masonry  below.  After  the 
earthquake,  some  of  the  large  piers  supporting  the 
great  crossing  as  well  as  the  adjacent  ones  were  found 
filled  with  the  most  carelessly  laid  rubble  and  earth, 
with  no  carrying  power  nor  resistance.  About  1520 
the  building  might  in  the  main  be  said  to  be  finished. 
Externally  it  has  never  been  completed,  although  in 
the  nineteenth  century  the  west  front  was  finished 
and  its  central  doorway  ornamented.  An  extensive 
restoration  which  took  place  in  1882  was  interrupted 
by  the  second  earthquake  of  1888,  during  which  the 
dome  again  fell  in.  To-day  it  is  all  rebuilt. 

The  entrance  is  at  the  west  end.  The  plan,  as  I 
have  said,  was  governed  by  the  old  basilica-shaped 
mosque.  The  transepts  do  not  project  beyond  the 
chapels  of  the  side  aisles,  and  at  the  east  end  it  differs 
from  most  Spanish  churdhes  in  having  a  square  ter- 
mination instead  of  an  apse.  Also  along  the  east  wall 
chapels  have  been  built  between  the  buttresses  simi- 
lar to  those  between  the  north  and  south  sides.  The 
central  portions  of  the  east  end  open  into  the  great 
Capilla  Real.  There  are  nine  doorways  to  the  church. 

In  studying  the  plan,  it  is  interesting  to  note  what 


206  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Mr.  Ferguson  has  indicated,  that  similarly  to  what  is 
found  in  the  Indian  Jain  temples,  the  diagonal  of  the 
aisle  compartments  has  the  same  length  as  the  width 
of  the  nave.  The  original  documents  and  accounts  of 
the  church,  which  have  disappeared,  were  probably 
burnt  among  Philip  II's  papers  destroyed  by  the 
great  Madrid  fire. 

Scarcely  two  of  the  Cathedral's  many  biographers 
agree  as  to  its  architects,  its  historic  precedents  or 
what  part  of  the  work  was  actually  inspired  by  earlier 
Spanish  architecture  and  national  builders.  Natu- 
rally Spanish  writers  attribute  workmanship,  prece- 
dents and  builders  all  to  their  own  Peninsula,  while 
the  diifferent  foreign  authorities  vary  in  their  esti- 
mates. Distinctly  Spanish  features  of  construction 
as  well  as  ornamentation  are  found  side  by  side  with 
others  which  unquestionably  came  from  masters 
trained  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  In  various  places 
vaulting  is  found  thoroughly  German  in  its  complex- 
ity and  florid  detail.  Several  authorities  point  out  the 
resemblances  between  Milan  and  Seville,  not  that  the 
ornamentation  of  the  frosted  and  encrusted  Italian 
misconception  can  be  intelligently  compared  with  the 
Plateresque  carving,  but  there  is  a  certain  mixture  of 
local  and  foreign  feeling  in  both.  In  Seville  French 
and  German  feeling  seems  to  be  struggling  under 
Spanish  fetters,  just  as  in  Lombardy  the  German 
seems  to  be  laboring  with  Italian  comprehension  of 
Gothic,  finally  abandoning  the  inorganic  scheme  for 
a  lovely,  riotous,  and  marvelous  attempt  at  carving 
to  which  the  material  no  longer  placed  any  limita- 
tions. 

The  Spanish  architect  of  the  middle  ages  was 


SEVILLE  207 

placed  in  a  novel  situation,  and  his  art  had  very  pecu- 
liar and  unusual  influences  bearing  upon  it.  Gothic 
methods  of  construction  and  ornamentation  had 
slowly  spread  over  the  country  with  the  growing 
sovereignty  of  Aragon  and  Castile,  and  in  spite  of  the 
corresponding  decline  of  the  Arab  kingdoms,  Moorish 
art  began  to  work  hand  in  hand,  as  far  as  was  possi- 
ble, with  the  forms  of  the  Christian  invader,  although 
the  hostility  between  the  races  hindered  any  extensive 
fusion  of  the  two.  They  began,  however,  to  influence 
each  other  for  good  or  bad  and  to  flourish  side  by  side. 
The  result  might  be  called  architectural  volapuk.  In 
Seville  it  is  certain  that,  whatever  the  nationality  of 
the  original  architect  and  however  incongruous  and 
expressionless  the  exterior  may  finally  have  become, 
the  interior  is  less  exotic,  less  unquestionably  a  French 
importation,  than  in  either  of  the  great  Gothic 
churches  of  Toledo  or  Burgos.  When  we  recall  the 
organic  completeness,  the  truthful  exterior  expres- 
sion, of  interior  lines  and  construction  in  the  greatest 
Gothic  cathedrals  of  France,  we  turn  with  sadness  to 
the  outer  form  of  so  fair  a  soul  as  that  of  Santa  Maria 
of  Seville,  the  work  of  the  most  famous  architects  of 
her  age.  Some  attribute  the  original  plans  of  the  church 
to  Alfonso  Rodriguez,  others  to  Alfonso  Martinez,  who 
was  Maestro  Mayor  of  the  chapter  in  1396,  others 
again  to  Pedro  Garcia;  a  long  list  of  names  follows: 
Juan  the  Norman,  Juan  de  Hoz,  Alfonso  Ruiz,  Ximon, 
Alfonso  Rodriguez,  and  Gonzalo  de  Rojas,  Pedro 
Mellan,  Miguel  Florentin,  Pedro  Lopez,  Henrique  de 
Egas,  Juan  de  Alava,  Jorge  Fernandez  Alleman,  Juan 
Gil  de  Houtanon  and  the  masters  who  after  the  earth- 
quake hurried  to  Seville  from  their  buildings  in  Toledo, 


JM)8  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Jaen,  Vittoria,  and  other  places.  Casanova  is  the  last 
of  her  many  architects. 

Correctly  speaking,  there  is  no  fagade.  The  Cathe- 
dral runs  from  west  to  east,  the  western  or  main  en- 
trance portal  being  pierced  by  three  ogival  doorways, 
the  Puerta  Mayor  with  a  modern  relief  of  the  As- 
sumption, the  Puerta  del  Nacimento  or  de  San  Mi- 
guel to  the  south,  and  the  Puerta  del  Bautizo  or  de 
San  Juan  to  the  north.  Saint  Miguel  has  a  relief  of 
the  Nativity  of  Christ,  Saint  Juan,  one  representing 
Saint  John  baptizing.  In  the  moldings  surrounding 
these,  are  very  exquisite  little  figures  of  early  six- 
teenth-century work  executed  in  terra-cotta.  They 
are  full  of  the  best  Gothic  feeling,  splendidly  fitted 
to  their  spaces,  alive  with  the  expression  of  the  imagi- 
native period  of  their  sculptor,  Pedro  Millan.  Above 
and  around  the  door  of  San  Juan  is  a  Gothic  tracery  of 
the  most  elaborate  character. 

One  cannot  refrain  from  comparing  the  sculptural 
work  of  these  three  doorways.  Riccardo  Bellver's 
modern  Assumption  over  the  central  doorway  is  as 
congealed  as  the  terra-cotta  sculptures  above  and 
around  the  side  portals  are  admirable.  They  are  un- 
questionably among  the  most  interesting  bits  of  re- 
lief as  well  as  figure  sculpture  of  their  kind  produced 
in  Spain  during  the  fifteenth  century.  Pedro  Millan 
stands  out  as  a  great  mediaeval  master,  not  only  from 
the  consummate  skill  with  which  the  drapery  is 
treated  but  from  the  living,  breathing  personality 
and  attitudes  of  the  men  and  women  around  him, 
which  we  still  gaze  at  in  the  truth  of  their  curious, 
naive,  fifteenth-century  light. 

As  the  whole  western  fagade  was  not  completed  in 


SEVILLE  209 

its  present  form  until  1827,  much  of  its  work  is  as  poor 
as  it  is  modern. 

There  are  two  entrances  to  the  eastern  end,  richly 
decorated  with  fine  terra-cotta  statues  and  reliefs 
of  angels,  patriarchs,  and  Biblical  figures,  attributed 
to  Lope  Marin.  In  the  northern  fagade  there  are 
three,  —  one  classical  and  of  very  little  interest  lead- 
ing to  the  parish  church;  the  second  is  the  Puerto  de 
los  Naranjos. 

In  the  Puerta  del  Lagarto,  where  the  Giralda  abuts 
the  Cathedral,  there  hangs  a  poor  stuffed  crocodile, 
once  sent  by  a  Sultan  of  Egypt  in  token  of  admiration 
to  Saint  Ferdinand.  The  beast,  having  died  on  his 
way  from  the  Nile,  could  never  crawl  in  the  basins  of 
the  Alcazar  gardens,  but  found  a  resting-place  under 
the  shelves  of  the  Columbina  library. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  orange-tree  court  is  the 
Puerta  del  Perdon.  The  Florentine  relief  above,  re- 
presenting the  crouching  traders  as  they  were  driven 
from  the  Temple,  naturally  spoils  the  effectiveness 
of  the  magnificent  Moorish  portal  below.  Its  horse- 
shoe curve,  with  delicate  Moorish  interlacing,  ara- 
besques, frieze  and  bronze  doors,  is  a  curious  and 
striking  note  of  a  bygone  age,  leading  as  it  does  to  the 
walled  and  fragrant  courtyard  of  its  builders,  and  the 
fountain  where  they  made  their  ablutions.  Later 
Renaissance  statues  of  the  Annunciation  and  Saint 
Peter  and  Saint  Paul,  as  well  as  Florentine  pilasters 
and  ornament,  flank  the  Moorish  moldings  in  an 
utterly  meaningless  manner. 

On  the  south  is  the  gate  of  San  Cristobal,  or  of  the 
Lonja,  finished  only  a  few  years  ago. 

In  and  out  of  these  many  entrances  the  popula<je 


210  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

stream,  to  worship,  to  whisper,  to  gossip,  to  rest,  to 
bargain,  to  beg,  and  to  make  love.  The  whole  drama 
of  life  in  its  conglomerate  population  goes  on  within 
the  walls  of  the  Cathedral.  It  is  the  most  frequented 
thoroughfare,  where  the  people  enter  as  often  with  a 
song  on  their  lips  as  with  a  prayer.  The  great  edifice 
with  all  the  ceremonial  of  its  religious  services  is 
woven  into  their  life,  as  is  the  sound  of  the  guitars 
and  castanets  that  echo  within  its  portals  and  court- 
yards. The  church  and  her  children  are  not  stran- 
gers. The  Sevillian  does  not  approach  her  altars  with 
religious  awe  and  fear,  but  with  a  childish  trust;  he 
kneels  down  before  them  as  much  at  home  as  when 
rolling  his  cigarette  on  the  bench  of  his  cafe.  The 
Cathedral,  like  the  houses  nestling  and  crumbling 
around  it,  opens  wide  and  hospitable  gates  that  lead 
to  the  refreshing  shade  and  comfort  within. 

The  western  front  is  practically  the  only  one  which 
presents  the  Cathedral  unobscured  by  adjacent 
buildings  climbing  up  its  sides  or  struggling  between 
the  buttresses,  —  or  which  is  not  concealed  by  en- 
closing screenwork.  To  the  north  the  walls  of  the 
Orange  Court  block  the  view;  to  the  east,  the  high 
screen;  and  to  the  south,  the  chapter  house  and  the 
Dependencias  de  la  Hermanidad  and  the  sacristy. 
The  mass  of  domes  with  supporting  flying  buttresses, 
ramps  and  finials  above  it,  all  remind  one  curiously 
of  a  transplanted  and  ecclesiasticized  Chambord. 

As  the  plan  conforms  to  the  conditions  of  the  old 
rectangular  mosque  and  has  neither  projecting  tran- 
septs nor  semicircular  chevet,  it  can  scarcely  be 
called  Gothic.  It  consists  of  nave  and  double  side 
aisles,  —  the  nave  56  feet  wide  from  centre  to  centre 


Photo  by  J.  LacoBte,  Maand 


CATHEDRAL  OF  SEVILLE 
Gateway  of  Perdon  in  the  Orange  Tree  Court 


SEVILLE  «11 

of  the  columns  and  145  feet  high,  and  the  inner  side 
aisles  40  wide  and  about  100  high.  Outside  these  is 
another  aisle  filled  with  various  chapels. 

At  the  crossing  of  the  nave  and  transept,  we  have 
the  typical,  small  Spanish  octagonal  dome,  —  in  this 
instance  covering  possibly  what  was  in  the  original 
mosque  a  central  octagonal  court.  It  is  a  construc- 
tion rising  some  hundred  and  seventy  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  eye,  admitting  light  below  its  spring  into 
what  in  the  French  Gothic  edifices  would  usually  be 
the  gloomiest  portions  of  the  building. 

The  side  aisles  differ  slightly  in  width,  the  two 
lateral  ones  being  filled  with  various  chapels.  There 
are  nine  bays,  separated  by  thirty-six  clustered  pil- 
lars, some  of  them  perfect  towers  in  their  huge  and 
massive  strength.  Their  detail  and  outline  are  excel- 
lent, all  of  the  greatest  simplicity  and  restraint.  The 
delicate  engaged  shafts  which  surround  the  huge  sup- 
ports of  fifteen  feet  diameter  terminate  below  the 
vaulting  ribs  in  delicately  interlaced  palm-leaf  caps. 
Nothing  is  confused  or  intricate.  Sixty-eight  com- 
partments spring  from  the  various  piers  with  a  lofti- 
ness reminding  one  of  Cologne.  The  groining  differs 
very  much.  The  greater  portion  is  admirably  plain, 
of  simple  quadripartite  design;  other  parts  are  fanci- 
ful and  elaborate,  recalling  florid  German  prototypes. 
The  five  central  vaults  forming  the  cross  under  the 
dome  alone  have  elaborate  fan-vaulting;  the  geometri- 
cal design  is  as  excellent  as  its  detail.  The  richness 
given  this  central  and  most  correct  portion  of  the 
great  roofing  is  all  the  more  effective  by  contrast  with 
the  plain,  unelaborated  groins  of  the  surrounding 
vaults.    The  petals  of  the  flower,  the  very  holy  of 


ftlft  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

holies,  between  the  choir  and  the  Capilla  Mayor, 
before  the  high  altar,  are  what  is  most  beautiful  and 
enriched. 

The  lighting  is  very  unusual,  and  better  than  either 
Leon  or  Toledo.  Ninety-three  windows  are  filled 
with  the  most  glorious  glass.  There  are  two  cleresto- 
ries to  light  the  body  of  the  church,  one  in  the  walls 
of  the  second  side  aisle,  admitting  light  above  the 
roofs  of  the  chapels,  the  second  in  the  nave.  Added 
to  this  come  the  huge  lights  of  the  five  rose  windows. 

In  Seville,  as  in  Toledo  and  many  of  the  other  great 
Spanish  cathedrals,  the  general  view  of  the  interior 
is  blocked,  and  the  majestic  effectiveness  of  the  col- 
umnar rows  marred,  by  the  placing  of  the  great  choir 
in  the  centre  of  the  edifice. 

But  the  interior  effect  is  nevertheless  one  of  the 
most  inspiring  produced  by  the  imagination  and 
hands  of  man.  All  truly  majestic  conceptions  are 
simple  and,  though  we  may  at  times  wonder  at  the 
secret  of  their  power,  we  always  find  their  enduring 
grandeur  due  to  a  hidden  simplicity.  This  is  true  of 
the  Parthenon,  of  the  Venus  of  Milo,  and  the  Sistine 
Madonna.  Whoever  enters  the  Cathedral  of  Seville 
is  struck  first  of  all  by  its  simplicity.  The  tremendous 
scale  of  the  interior  is  unperceived,  owing  to  the  just 
proportion  between  all  the  parts.  There  is  height  as 
well  as  width,  massiveness  and  strength,  boldness  and 
light.  None  of  the  detail  is  petty  or  too  elaborate, 
but  simple  and  effective,  making  a  harmony  in  all  its 
parts.  Even  the  furniture  carries  out  the  tremendous 
boldness  and  grandeur  of  the  edifice.  Bells,  choir 
books,  candles,  altar  chests,  are  all  on  the  same 
grandiose  scale.   It  has  true  majesty  in  its  simplicity 


SEVILLE  ;218 

of  direct,  honest  appeal,  and  a  proud  unconsciousness, 
because  it  is  free  from  the  artificiality  which  is  invari- 
ably vulgar.  The  truly  beautiful  woman  needs  none 
of  the  devices  of  art.  The  shafts  and  vaults  and 
string  courses  in  Seville's  Cathedral  need  little  orna- 
mentation to  bring  out  their  beauty;  they  are  in  fact 
as  effective  as  the  elaborate  carving  of  Salamanca 
and  Segovia.  Seville  preaches  a  great  lesson  to  our 
twentieth  century,  of  peace,  rest  and  completeness. 
It  has  room  for  all  its  children;  they  may  kneel  at 
eighty-two  different  shrines  and  find  romance  or 
encouragement  or  the  consolation  they  are  seeking. 
Some  churches  are  strangely  secular  in  their  restless- 
ness of  feeling,  while  others  breathe  an  atmosphere 
full  of  poetry,  exaltation  and  the  infinite  peace  of 
the  Gospels.  Seville's  religion  is  for  the  humble  and 
simple  as  much  as  for  the  grandee.  It  is  not  only  the 
great  cathedral  church  of  the  archbishop  and  bishop, 
the  eleven  dignitaries,  forty  canons,  twenty  pre- 
bendaries, twenty  minor  canons,  twenty  veinteneros, 
twenty  chaplains  and  the  host  of  a  choir,  but  the  be- 
loved home  of  the  poor,  miserable,  starving  sons  and 
daughters  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Sede. 

Although  architecturally  the  injurious  effect  of 
placing  choir  and  high  altar  in  the  middle  of  the 
church  cannot  be  overstated,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  ritual,  of  closely  uniting  the  officiating  body  with 
the  worshipers,  it  is  undoubtedly  a  far  happier  ar- 
rangement than  where  the  prayers  and  psalms  pro- 
ceed from  the  extreme  apsidal  termination.  In  the 
former  case  the  religious  guidance  seems  to  emanate 
from  the  very  soul  of  the  edifice,  and  to  reach  all  hum- 
ble worshipers  in  the  remotest  nooks  and  corners. 


214  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

The  Spanish  nature  craves  the  sensuous  and  the- 
atrical in  religious  rites,  and  not  far-away  but  inti- 
mately, as  part  and  parcel  of  it.  In  the  time  of  the 
great  ecclesiastical  power  of  the  bishopric  of  Seville 
20,000  pounds  of  wax  were  burned  every  year,  500 
masses  were  daily  celebrated  at  the  80  altars,  and  the 
wine  consumed  in  the  yearly  sacrament  amounted  to 
18,750  litres.  Seville's  children  wished  to  be  close  to 
the  glare  and  flicker  of  the  wax  candles  and  torches 
and  to  hear  distinctly  the  unintelligible  Latin  service. 
Seek  the  shade  of  the  cathedral  when  the  July  sun  is 
burning  outside,  or  during  one  of  the  nights  of  Holy 
Week,  when  the  great  Miserere  of  Eslava  is  sung,  and 
you  will  find  it  the  most  thronged  spot  in  all  Seville. 
In  the  words  of  Havelock  Ellis:  "Profoundly  im- 
pressive, —  around  the  choir  an  impassive  mass,  in 
the  rest  of  the  church  characteristic  Spanish  groups 
crouched  at  the  bases  of  the  great  clustered  shafts, 
and  chatted  and  used  their  fans  familiarly,  as  if  in 
their  own  homes,  while  dogs  ran  about  unmolested. 
The  vast  church  lent  itself  superbly  to  the  music  and 
the  scene.  It  was  a  scene  stranger  than  the  designs 
of  Martin,  as  bizarre  as  something  out  of  Poe  or 
Baudelaire.  In  the  dim  light  the  huge  piers  seemed 
larger  and  higher  than  ever,  while  the  faint  altar  lights 
dimly  lit  up  the  iron  screen  of  the  Capilla  Mayor,  as  in 
Rembrandt's  conception  of  the  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 
In  the  scene  of  enchantment  one  felt  that  Santa 
Maria  of  Seville  had  delivered  up  the  last  secret  of 
her  mystery  and  romance." 

If  you  enter  the  church  from  the  west  through  the 
main  portal,  or  the  Puerta  Mayor,  the  whole  length 
of  the  nave  is  broken  by  various  structures.   On  the 


SEVILLE  215 

axis,  under  the  second  vault,  is  the  tomb  of  Fer- 
nando Colon ;  the  fourth  and  fifth  vaults  contain  the 
choir;  the  sixth  comes  under  the  dome;  the  seventh 
and  eighth  take  in  the  Capilla  Mayor  and  Sacristia 
Alta;  back  of  the  ninth  and  terminating  the  eastern 
end,  rises  the  great  Renaissance  royal  chapel  (Cap- 
illa Real).  Fernando  Colon  deserves  to  live  not  only 
in  Seville's  history  but  in  the  memory  of  all  Spain, 
first  and  foremost  for  being  his  father's  son  (by  his 
mistress  Beatrix  Enrigues),  and,  secondly,  for  leading 
a  most  pious  and  studious  life  and  devoting  his  time 
and  fortune  while  traversing  Europe  during  the  first 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  the  purchase  of  the 
most  valuable  books  and  manuscripts  of  the  time. 
These  he  united  into  the  famous  Columbina  Library 
and  presented  to  the  Cathedral  Chapter.  The  enor- 
mous wooden  tabernacle  erected  every  Passion  Week 
over  the  great  Discoverer's  son,  to  reach  the  very 
arches  of  the  vaults  overhead,  is  as  hideous  as  the  in- 
scription is  touching.  Three  caravels  are  inlaid  on  the 
slab,  between  which  runs  the  legend,  *'A  Castillay  a 
Leon  mundo  nuevo  die  Colon "  (To  Castile  and 
Leon  Columbus  gave  a  new  world),  and  the  follow- 
ing inscription :  *'  Of  what  avails  it  that  I  have  bathed 
the  entire  universe  in  my  sweat,  that  I  have  thrice 
passed  through  the  new  world,  discovered  by  my 
father,  that  I  have  adorned  the  banks  of  the  gentle 
Bati  and  preferred  my  simple  tastes  to  riches,  in  order 
to  gather  around  thee  the  divinities  of  the  Castalian 
Spring  and  offer  thee  the  treasures  already  gathered 
by  Ptolemy,  if  thou  in  passing  this  stone  in  Seville, 
dost  not  at  least  give  a  greeting  to  my  father  and  a 
thought  to  me." 


i^l6  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Directly  back  of  Fernando  Columbus*  tomb  rises 
the  rear  surface  or  trascoro  of  the  choir.  The  choir, 
which  occupies  the  fourth  and  fifth  bays,  is  enclosed 
by  the  most  elaborate  walls,  except  at  the  entrance 
to  the  east,  where  it  is  screened  by  the  remarkable 
iron  reja.  This,  as  well  as  the  rejas  of  the  choir,  is 
in  design  and  workmanship  a  marvelous  example  of 
mediaeval  craft,  quite  as  fine  as  the  screens  of  Toledo 
and  Granada  and  the  best  work  of  the  German 
forgers  and  guilds.  The  design,  from  1519,  harmon- 
izes splendidly  with  the  ironwork  facing  it.  Its  gilding 
must  have  improved  as  each  century  has  toned  it 
down.  Now  in  the  evening  hours  when  it  catches  the 
reflection  of  some  light,  the  spikes  look  like  angels' 
spears  rising  flame-like  out  of  the  mysterious  twilight 
and  guarding  the  holy  places  beyond. 

The  choir,  placed  so  nearly  under  the  dome,  natu- 
rally suffered  greatly  by  its  fall.  A  portion  of  the  127 
stalls  has  been  so  well  restored  that  it  is  difficult  to 
distinguish  the  old  from  the  new.  "Nufro  Sanchez, 
sculptor,  whom  God  guarded,  made  this  choir  in  the 
year  1475."  The  subjects  are  as  usual  from  the  New 
and  Old  Testaments,  and  the  character  of  the  carving 
constantly  betrays  Moorish  influence.  The  pillars  as 
well  as  the  canopies  and  the  figures  themselves  are 
possibly  entirely  Gothic,  but  one  glance  at  the  gaudily 
inlaid  backs  shows  Arab  workmanship.  Along  the 
outer  sides  of  the  choir  around  the  four  little  stone- 
work niches,  which  serve  as  smaller  chapels,  the 
Gothic  carving  (some  of  it  executed  in  transparent 
alabaster),  works  more  happily  than  usual  in  com- 
bination with  the  later  Plateresque  or  Renaissance, 
here  containing  the  fine  feeling  of  the  Genoese  school. 


SEVILLE  217 

One  piece  of  sculpture  stands  out  from  all  the  rest, 
viz.,  the  Virgin,  carved  by  Montanes.  Her  hands  are 
of  such  exquisite  girlish  delicacy,  of  such  immature 
and  dimpled  softness,  that  one  cannot  pass  them  by 
without  a  feeling  of  delight. 

The  organs,  which  form  a  part  of  the  choir,  have  an 
incredible  number  of  pipes  and  stops.  According  to 
a  remarkable  old  tale,  they  were  filled  with  air  by  the 
choir  boys,  who  walked  back  and  forth  over  tilting 
planks  placed  on  the  bellows.  Whether  or  no  the  boys 
still  have  this  happy  outlet  for  their  ecclesiastic  ac- 
tivities, the  music  means  little  to  the  Spaniard,  and 
their  design  still  less  to  the  architect's  eye. 

The  Capilla  Mayor  faces  the  choir,  merely  separated 
from  it  by  the  space  lying  directly  under  the  dome  and 
forming  the  intersection  of  nave  and  transepts.  As 
the  church  services  constantly  require  the  simultane- 
ous use  of  the  choir  and  the  high  altar  of  the  Capilla 
Mayor,  a  portion  of  the  intermediate  space  or  "entre 
los  dos  Coros"  is  roped  off  during  service  time  for  the 
clergy  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other.  The  Spanish 
taste  for  pomp  and  magnificence  centres  in  all  its  ex- 
travagance about  the  high  altar,  while  a  more  sub- 
dued richness  characterizes  the  surrounding  stone  and 
iron  work  which  encloses  the  sanctuary  on  all  sides. 
Not  only  on  the  front,  complementing  and  balancing 
admirably  the  facing  reja  of  the  choir,  but  on  the 
western  ends  of  the  sides,  immense  ornamental  iron 
screens  bar  the  way.  The  front  one  is  quite  overpow- 
ering in  size,  rising  some  seventy-five  feet  above  the 
altar.  The  Spaniard  was  equal  to  any  undertaking  in 
the  days  of  early  Hapsburg  splendor  under  the  pious 
Reyos  Catolicos.  With  the  aid  of  Sancho  Munoz  and 


218  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Diego  de  Yorobo,  a  Dominican  Friar,  Francesco  de 
Salamanca  designed  them  (1518)  and  then  super- 
intended the  welding,  gilding  and  the  final  erection 
in  1523. 

The  east  end  of  the  Capilla  Mayor  is  formed  by  the 
magnificent  retablo,  almost  four  thousand  square  feet 
in  size.  One  is  immediately  struck  by  its  immense 
proportions  and  the  infinite  amount  of  carving  be- 
stowed on  it.  Its  great  scheme  was  conceived  in  1482 
by  the  Flemish  sculptor  Dancart,  evidently  a  man  of 
prolific  and  versatile  imagination.  If  we  try  to  com- 
pare it  with  the  work  of  English  churches,  we  might 
best  liken  it  to  the  great  altar  screens.  This  and  the 
retablo  at  Toledo  are  probably  the  richest  specimens 
of  mediaeval  woodwork  in  existence.  Portions  of  the 
execution  are  somewhat  inferior  to  the  conception, 
and  yet  the  artists  who  labored  on  it  with  loving  skill 
until  the  middle  of  the  following  century  carried  out 
all  their  work  with  a  richness  and  delicacy  which  make 
it  not  only  a  representative  piece  of  late  Gothic  sculp- 
ture but  one  of  the  most  magnificent  specimens  of 
this  branch  of  Spanish  art.  Its  various  portions  em- 
brace the  whole  period  of  florid  Gothic  from  its  earlier, 
more  restrained  expression  to  the  very  last  stroke  of 
the  art,  when  wood  was  mastered  and  carved  into 
incredible  filigree  work  as  if  it  had  been  as  soft  and 
pliable  as  silver  leaf.  Everything  that  could  be  carved 
is  there,  figures,  foliage,  tracery,  moldings  and  mere 
conventionalized  ornament.  The  central  portions  are 
of  the  earlier  fifteenth  century,  the  outer  ones,  of  the 
late  sixteenth,  executed  under  Master  Marco  Jorge 
Fernandez.  The  wood  is  principally  larch,  with  minor 
portions  of  chestnut  and  pine.   The  whole  field  is 


SEVILLE  219 

divided  by  slender  shafts  and  laboriously  carved 
bands  into  forty-four  compartments  representing  in 
high  and  low  relief  various  scenes  from  the  life  of 
Christ  and  the  Virgin  Mary.  In  the  centre  is  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Sede,  the  patron  saint  of  the  church,  sur- 
mounted by  a  Crucifixion  with  Saint  John  and  the 
Virgin  on  either  side. 

Between  the  retablo  and  the  rear  wall  enclosing  the 
rectangle  of  the  Capilla  Mayor,  there  is  a  dark  space 
known  as  the  Sacristia  Alta,  where  is  preserved  the 
Tablas  Alfonsinas,^  brought  from  Constantinople  to 
Paris  by  Saint  Ferdinand's  son,  Alfonso. 

Seville  ranks  high  among  the  churches  of  Spain  in 
the  beauty  of  its  carving.  The  stone  screen  that 
forms  the  rear  of  the  retablo  is  filled  with  admirable 
Gothic  terra-cotta  statues,  saints,  virgins,  bishops, 
martyrs  and  prelates  executed  with  a  little  of  the 
curious  rigidity  of  the  Dutch  School  still  awaiting 
its  Renaissance  emancipation,  but  with  faces  full  of 
holy  devotion.  The  modeling  is  correct  and  the  treat- 
ment of  the  drapery  excellent. 

Within  the  enclosure  of  the  Capilla  Mayor,  there  is 
still  to  be  seen  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  a  cere- 
mony which  has  been  performed  for  centuries,  and 
which  is  certainly  the  most  unique  religious  rite  cele- 
brated in  any  Christian  church.  To  the  Saxon  it  is 
most  extraordinary.  During  the  last  three  days  of  the 
Carnival  or  after  the  Feast  of  Corpus  Domini,  we  may 
see  boys  dressed  in  costumes  perform  a  dance  before 
the  high  altar  of  the  Cathedral.  Children,  so  the  tale 

*  The  great  astronomical  work,  performed  by  that  wonder  of  learn- 
ing, Alfonso  X  of  Castile,  in  concert  with  Arab  and  Jewish  men  of 
science. 


no  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

runs,  danced,  skipped  and  shouted  for  joy  when  the 
city  of  Seville  was  finally  taken  from  the  Mohamme- 
dans, and  these  childish  demonstrations  so  touched 
the  hearts  of  the  clergy  who  entered  the  city  with  the 
conquering  army,  that  they  resolved  that  succeeding 
generations  of  boys  should  perpetuate  them  forever. 
Of  all  the  festivals  and  religious  processions  culminat- 
ing in  or  outside  Saint  Mary's  shrine,  surely  none  can 
give  her  so  much  pleasure  as  the  sight  of  these  little 
boys  dancing  and  singing  in  her  honor. 

This  naff  and  charming  ceremonial  is  part  of  the 
Mozarabic  Ritual,  the  work  of  Saint  Isidore,  a  metro- 
politan of  Seville  a  hundred  years  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Saracens.  In  his  early  years,  when  his  elder 
brother  Leander  ruled  the  Gothic  Church  with  stern 
hand,  Isidore  had  time  and  talents  to  master  in  his 
cloistered  seclusion  so  much  art  and  science  that  he 
became  the  Admirable  Crichton  of  his  day.  His  work 
on  "The  Origin  of  Things"  shows  the  profundity  of 
his  knowledge,  his  history  of  the  Goths  is  beyond 
doubt  his  most  valuable  legacy  to  us,  but  what  en- 
deared him  above  all  to  his  countrymen  was  the 
Mozarabic  Rite,  of  which  he  composed  both  breviary 
and  music.  The  Benedictine  monks  of  Cluny,  those 
architects  and  chroniclers,  who  had  been  obliged  to 
sacrifice  their  Galilean  liturgy  for  the  Roman,  could 
not  rest  satisfied  until  they  had  imposed  it  on  the 
Peninsula.  They  were  supported  in  this  truly  foreign 
aggression  by  Constance  of  Burgundy,  Queen  of 
Alfonso  VI,  and  by  the  masterful  Gregory  VII,  him- 
self a  Benedictine.  And  so  Saint  Isidore's  quaint  old 
hymn  with  the  accompanying  melody  was  banished 
from  all  but  one  or  two  favored  chapels.  Fortunately 


SEVILLE  221 

Cardinal  Ximenez  became  its  enthusiastic  and  power- 
ful protector.  He  endowed  in  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo 
a  special  chapel  and  had  thirteen  priests  trained  for 
the  service,  "Mozarabes  sodales.'*  In  Ximenez'  time 
a  German,  Peter  Hagenbach,  first  printed  "missale 
secundum  regulam  beati  Isidori  dictum  Mozarabes," 
what  Saint  Isidore  called  "those  fleeting  sounds  so 
hard  to  note  down."  His  breviary  was  the  first  Ro- 
man one  to  be  used  in  Spanish  churches. 

To  enumerate  the  endless  rows  of  chapels  with 
their  countless  treasures  and  chaste  or  tawdry  archi- 
tecture and  decoration  would  be  tiresome  and  unpro- 
fitable, —  with  a  plan  and  guide-book,  one  may  pass 
them  in  review.  "Sixty-seven  of  the  great  sculptors 
and  thirty-eight  of  the  painters  here  display  to  the 
astonished  and  incredulous  eye  the  masterpieces  of 
their  hand,"  says  one.  Here  is  almost  every  painter 
belonging  to  the  great  Sevillian  school  of  painting  of 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  They  form 
a  veritable  museum  or  a  series  of  small  museums, 
each  chapel  being  a  separate  room  of  masterpieces. 
But  here,  as  in  the  museum,  there  are  good  and  bad 
paintings  and  statues,  and  only  the  excellent  are 
worth  attention.  They  are  better  worth  studying  here 
than  elsewhere,  for  they  have  been  left  in  the  sur- 
roundings for  which  they  were  intended  and  painted. 
Spain's  great  religious  artist  did  not  paint  his  Ma- 
donnas so  full  of  distracting  and  sensuous  loveliness 
for  the  walls  of  the  Prado;  their  smiles,  human  and 
pathetic,  were  for  the  altars  and  panels  of  sanctuaries. 
Here  is  the  light  in  which  they  were  studied  and  for 
which  they  were  colored;  here  are  the  walls  and 
frames  which  were  intended  to  surround  them;  they 


ftStSt  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

are  in  the  company  they  would  choose,  and  they  were 
painted  with  the  same  religious  devotion  that  inspires 
the  prayers  now  offered  before  them.  The  painter's 
inspiration  sprang  from  the  fervor  of  his  faith. 

Three  of  the  paintings  are  lovely  above  all  others. 
Two  are  Murillo's,  namely  the  Angel  de  la  Guarda 
and  the  San  Antonio  of  the  baptistery;  the  third  is  the 
Deposition  from  the  Cross,  by  Pedro  de  Campana 
(or  more  correctly  Kempeneer),  hanging  in  the  great 
sacristy.  This  is  the  painting,  Spanish  historians  will 
tell  you,  Murillo  loved  so  well  that  whenever  he  was 
downhearted  he  would  stand  in  front  of  it  for  hours, 
and  become  lost  to  all  around  him,  even  forgetting  his 
own  Madonnas.  One  day  the  sacristan  asked  him 
impatiently,  why  he  so  often  stood  there  staring.  *'I 
am  waiting,"  Murillo  answered,  "till  those  holy  men 
have  taken  the  Saviour  down  from  the  Cross."  It 
hangs  well  lighted  over  one  of  the  altars  of  the  Sa- 
cristy. Few  faces  have  ever  been  painted  which  con- 
vey depth  and  intensity  of  feeling  in  a  more  affecting 
way.  The  agonized  faces  of  the  women  at  the  foot  of 
the  Cross  express  all  an  innocent  human  heart  can  feel 
of  compassion,  heart-wrung  sorrow  and  despair.  The 
ecstasy  with  which  Saint  Anthony,  who  is  kneeling  in 
prayer,  gazes  at  the  Child  Jesus  has  seldom  been  sur- 
passed in  reality  and  power.  Entirely  lifted  beyond 
the  earthly  sphere,  his  features  kindle  with  ardent 
piety  and  divine  love.  The  angels  surrounding  the 
Infant  Jesus  have  a  simplicity  of  expression  which 
never  escapes  those  who  have  loved  and  studied  chil- 
dren. The  coloring  is  unique  and  of  a  truly  penetrat- 
ing softness.  All  the  little  details  of  the  miserable 
cell  in  which  the  saint  is  kneeling  are  rendered  with 


SEVILLE  223 

the  vigorous  reality  so  characteristic  of  the  Spanish 
school,  while  in  the  upper  part  of  the  painting  one 
seems  to  see  even  the  dust  particles  floating  in  the 
rays  of  sunlight.  The  shadows  have  a  marvelous 
transparency. 

The  Angel  de  la  Guarda,  or  Guardian  Angel,  is  one 
of  the  master's  very  best  works.  The  purples  and 
yellows  of  the  angel's  vesture  have  kept  their  depth 
and  richness  through  all  the  centuries  in  which  the 
colors  have  been  drying. 

There  might  be  a  guidebook  dealing  with  the  paint- 
ings of  the  Cathedral  alone.  How  differently  it  is 
decorated  from  the  great  Gothic  cathedrals  of  the 
present  Anglican  Church!  In  Seville  as  in  Florence, 
all  the  fine  arts  seemed  to  flower  and  come  to  perfec- 
tion during  the  sixteenth  century.  Sculpture  and 
painting  were  employed  to  embellish  architecture,  as 
in  the  ancient  days  of  Greece.  The  sister  arts  walked 
once  more  hand  in  hand.  The  figures  in  stone  and  still 
more  in  terra-cotta  which  adorn  the  exterior  porches 
and  the  more  decorative  portions  of  the  interior  are 
unusually  fine.  Many  of  the  bishops,  saints  and 
kings  have  an  unmistakable  Renaissance  feeling. 
Take,  for  instance,  such  a  statue  as  the  Virgin  del 
Reposo,  so  dear  to  the  Sevillians,  —  you  feel  in  all  the 
handling  the  period  of  transition.  Such  sculptors  as 
Miguel  Florentin,  Juan  Marin,  and  Diego  de  Pesquera 
must  have  been  influenced  by  Italy  when  they  carved 
the  statues  which  adorn  the  Cathedral  of  Seville. 

The  contact  with  Italy  and  the  many  Italian  work- 
men gradually  induced  faithlessness  to  the  earlier 
Gothic  ideals  of  the  founders  and  builders  of  the 
church.  The  great  Maestro  Mayor  of  Toledo  Cathe- 


224  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

dral,  Henrique  de  Egas,  was  among  the  first  to  intro- 
duce restraint  in  Spanish  building  after  the  fanati- 
cism of  the  later  flamboyant.  In  the  time  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella,  a  well-known  Toledan  published  a 
Spanish  abridgment  of  Vitruvius;  this  in  conjunction 
with  the  influence  of  many  foreign  artists  led  the  way 
to  classical  building.  Granada  was  soon  resurrected  as 
a  Greek-Roman  "Centralbau"  and  even  the  cross- 
ing of  Gothic  Burgos  was  unfortunately  restored  by 
Borgona  after  classic  models. 

The  new  foreign  movement  found  expression  in  ar- 
chitecture, in  sculpture  and  in  painting,  often  with 
the  most  extraordinary  attempts  to  employ  the  new 
without  discarding  the  old.  Grotesque  and  fantastic 
ornaments  crown  illogical  construction. 

The  royal  chapel,  the  chapter  house,  the  sagra- 
rio  and  the  great  sacristy  are  examples  of  the  new- 
born style.  The  first  two  are  magnificent  specimens 
of  Spanish  Renaissance.  Each  of  them  is  a  fine 
church  in  itself,  and  they  can  only  be  classed  as 
chapels  because  they  bear  that  relation  and  are  pro- 
portioned to  the  immense  mother  church  of  Seville. 

The  walls  of  the  Capilla  Real  form  the  eastern  ter- 
mination to  the  Cathedral,  and  the  chapel  is  very 
properly  planned  upon  the  axe  of  the  church  and  en- 
tered through  a  splendidly  decorated  lofty  arch.  It  is 
about  81  by  59  feet  in  plan,  and  113  feet  high  to  the 
lantern  crowning  the  really  fine  dome.  A  round  altar 
at  its  eastern  extremity  is  closed  off  by  a  typically 
impressive  reja.  The  architecture  is  of  the  magnifi- 
cence of  Saint  Peter's  in  Rome,  and  not  unlike  it  in 
detail.  Eight  Corinthian  pilasters  support  the  dome, 
breaking  the  wall  space  into  panels  and  carrying  the 


SEVILLE  225 

richest  classical  cornice  surmounted  by  fine  statues 
of  the  Apostles,  Evangelists  and  kings.  The  chapel 
takes  its  name  from  being  the  burial  place  of  the 
royal  house.  Along  its  walls  are  the  tombs  of  Saint 
Ferdinand's  consort,  of  Alfonso  the  Learned  and  his 
mother,  Beatrice  of  Suabia,  and  the  beautiful  Dona 
Maria  de  Padilla,  the  mistress  of  Pedro  the  Cruel.  He 
himself  is  buried  below  in  the  vault  with  many  other 
of  the  royal  princes.  In  the  centre  of  the  chapel  Saint 
Ferdinand  lies  in  full  armor  with  a  crown  on  his  head. 
Three  times  a  year  he  is  shown  to  the  soldiers  of  Spain, 
who  march  past  with  sounding  bugles  and  lowered 
banners. 

The  chapel  was  planned  and  built  by  Martin 
Ganza  during  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  Shortly  after 
the  defeat  of  the  Moors,  an  earlier  royal  one  was  built 
upon  the  same  site  and  added  to  the  old  mosque. 
When  the  great  new  Cathedral  was  planned,  the 
Chapter  begged  permission  to  remove  temporarily 
the  bodies  of  the  royal  personages  interred  in  the 
chapel,  —  the  holy  King  Ferdinand,  his  mother  and 
son.  This  petition  was  granted  by  Queen  Joanna  on 
condition  that  they  would  rebuild  it  on  a  more  fitting 
scale  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible.  The  Chapter  pre- 
ferred, however,  to  expend  all  its  means  and  energies 
on  the  great  vaulting  of  the  Cathedral  rather  than  on 
the  new  royal  sepulchre,  and  this  was  not  rebuilt  until 
Charles  V  finally  lost  patience  over  the  negligent 
and  disrespectful  manner  in  which  the  remains  of 
his  forbears  were  treated  and  wrote  to  the  Chapter, 
in  1543,  commanding  them  "to  start  the  work  with- 
out any  delay  whatsoever,  and  to  bring  it  to  com- 
pletion as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  to  execute  the 


226  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

work  as  excellently  as  befitted  its  royal  guests." 
That  the  workmen  made  no  delay  in  obeying  the 
royal  commands  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  walls 
were  well  up  as  early  as  1566  and  finished  shortly 
afterwards. 

None  of  the  Spanish  cathedrals  have  a  better  type 
of  Plateresque  architecture  and  decoration  than  the 
sacristy,  built  during  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  plan  is  that  of  a  Greek  cross,  70  by  40 
feet,  and  about  120  feet  high.  Its  dome,  spanning  the 
great  central  vault,  is  a  distinct  feature  in  any  com- 
prehensive exterior  view  of  the  Cathedral.  The  Sacristy 
is  filled  with  curious  and  priceless  relics,  treasures,  and 
vestments  belonging  to  the  church.  As  Santa  Justa 
and  Santa  Rufina  are  in  a  manner  the  patron  saints 
of  Seville,  their  picture  by  Goya  hanging  here  is  of 
interest.  Both  of  them  hold  vessels  of  the  character 
of  soup  dishes;  and  their  faces,  taken  from  Seville 
models,  are  of  decidedly  earthly  types. 

To  the  west  of  the  f agade  as  you  enter,  lies  the  large 
sagrario,  or  parish  church.  It  is  a  building  entirely 
by  itself,  112  feet  long,  with  a  single  nave  spanned  by 
a  dangerously  bold  barrel  vault. 

Here  and  there  among  the  chapels  you  come  sud- 
denly on  famous  subjects  by  great  masters,  names 
renowned  in  Spanish  history  or  striking  works  of  art. 
Learning  and  statesmanship  are  honored  in  great 
Mendoza's  monument:  the  silent  mailed  eflfigies  of 
the  Guzmans  commemorate  the  thrilling  exploits  of 
Spanish  arms.  What  sympathies  are  stirred  as  you 
stand  uncovered  before  the  tomb  of  the  great  and 
deeply  wronged  Discoverer!  We  hear  again  the  pas- 
sionate appeals  and  the  vain  pleadings  of  his  un- 


SEVILLE  227 

daunted  faith.  The  living  head  was  left  to  whiten 
within  prison  walls;  its  eflSgy  is  now  proudly  carried 
on  the  four  gorgeous  shoulders  of  the  Spanish  states; 
the  poor  bones,  after  their  weary  travels  from  Valla- 
dolid  to  the  Carthusian  monastery  of  Las  Cuevas, 
from  Hispaniola  to  Havana,  have  finally  found  a  rest- 
ing place  within  the  very  walls  where  they  were  once 
treated  with  such  contumely,  —  for  here  lies  the 
Great  Admiral,  Cristoforo  Colon. 

You  pass  paintings  by  Alfonso  Cano,  Ribera, 
Zurbaran,  Greco  and  Goya,  —  Murillo's  Immaculate 
Conception,  better  known  than  all  his  other  works; 
Montanez'  exquisite  Crucifixion,  canvases  by  Valdes, 
Herrera,  Boldan  and  Roelas.  There  are  subjects  curi- 
ous and  out  of  keeping  with  our  present  artistic  senti- 
ments, saints  walking  about  with  their  heads  instead 
of  breviaries  under  their  arms,  dresses  more  fitting 
for  the  ballroom  than  the  wintry  scenery  amid  which 
they  are  worn,  marriage  ceremonies  of  the  Virgin, 
Adam  and  Eve,  entirely  forgetful  of  their  lost  Eden 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  Virgin's  halo,  keys 
with  quaint  old  Arab  inscriptions:  "May  Allah  ren- 
der eternal  the  dominion  of  Islam  in  this  city," 
saints  with  removable  hair  of  spun  gold  and  jointed 
limbs,  others  snatched  from  quiet  altar  service  to 
plunge  into  the  turmoil  of  battle  on  the  saddle  bow 
of  reigning  kings.  Verily  a  museum  of  historical  curi- 
osities as  well  as  of  the  fine  arts,  satisfying  sensa- 
tional cravings  as  well  as  the  finer  artistic  sense. 

The  structure  is  revealed  to  us  through  a  light  of 
unearthly  sweetness.  None  of  the  Spanish  cathedrals 
are  more  satisfactorily  lighted,  for  Seville  has  neither 
the  brilliant  clarity  of  some  of  the  northern  churches, 


M8  THE   CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

which  robs  them  of  a  certain  mystery  and  awe,  nor  has 
it  the  sinister  obscurity  of  some  of  the  southern, 
where  both  structure  and  detail  are  half  lost  in  shad- 
ows, as  in  Barcelona. 

The  light  from  the  cimborio  and  from  the  two  rows 
of  windows  as  well  as  the  doors  penetrates  every 
chapel  with  its  rainbow  hues;  it  reveals  the  whole 
majestic  structure,  the  lofty  spring  of  the  arches,  the 
glittering  ironwork  of  the  screens,  the  titanic  strength 
and  simple  caps  of  the  columns,  and  breathes  celestial 
life  into  the  army  of  saints  and  martyrs.  It  gives  a 
soul  to  it  all.  The  effect  produced  by  the  early  morn- 
ing and  late  afternoon  light  is  very  different.  Santa 
Maria  de  la  Sede,  like  all  her  earthly  sisters,  has  a 
variety  of  expressions.  At  times  she  burns  with  ani- 
mation, even  a  remnant  of  earthly  passion  may  glow 
in  her  holy  countenance,  and  again  she  is  cold,  im- 
passive and  nunlike  in  her  gray  garb  of  renuncia- 
tion. 

According  to  an  Andalusian  proverb,  the  rays  of 
the  sun  have  no  evil  power  where  the  voice  of  prayer 
is  heard.  For  this  reason,  only  a  few  of  the  highest 
windows  are  screened  by  semi-transparent  curtains, 
and  the  light  pours  in  unbroken  through  most  of  their 
brilliant  tints  —  down  the  nave  in  deep  blood  reds 
and  indigo  blues.  The  greater  portion  of  the  glass 
is  unusually  rich  in  coloring,  —  perhaps  too  florid, 
but  typical  of  the  Flemish  School  of  glass-painting. 
Ninety-three  windows  were  stained  during  the  first 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  for  which  the  church 
paid  the  painters  the  large  sum  of  90,000  ducats.  The 
earliest  ones  are  by  Micer  and  Cristobal  Aleman,  who 
in  1538  introduced  in  Seville  real  stained  glass.   Ale- 


Photo  by  J .  Laeoste.  Madrid 


CATHEUKAL  Ul'  SEVI] 


AND  THE  GIKALDA 


SEVILLE  229 

man's,  representing  the  Ascension  of  Christ,  Mary 
Magdalen,  and  the  Awakening  of  Lazarus,  the  Entry 
into  Jerusalem,  the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
the  Apostles,  all  in  the  transept,  together  with  those 
by  his  brother  Arnao  de  Flanders,  are  the  best,  — 
better  than  most  Flemish  windows  of  the  time  in  any 
European  cathedral.  True,  they  are  somewhat  heavy 
in  outline  and  the  coloring  lacks  softness  and  restraint 
in  tone,  but  they  have  great  depth,  excellency  of 
drawing  and  power  of  expression  in  faces  and  figures. 
The  little  chapel,  the  Capilla  de  los  Doncelles,  con- 
tains a  magnificent  sheet  of  glass  representing  the 
Resurrection  of  Christ,  painted  by  Carlos  de  Bruges, 
one  of  the  great  Flemish  artists.  A  whole  school  of 
foreign  painters  seem  to  have  gathered  round  these 
famous  "vidrieros,"  many  of  them  working  in  their 
shops.  Among  the  best  known  are  Arnao  de  Vergara, 
Micer  Enrique  Bernardino  de  Celandra  and  Vicente 
Menardo. 

The  Giralda  is  incomparable,  a  unique  expression 
of  feminine  strength.  She  is  as  oriental  and  mysteri- 
ous as  the  Sphinx,  or  might  be  likened  to  a  great  sul- 
tana in  enchanted  sleep.  Though  her  majestic  head 
has  towered  for  centuries  beside  her  Christian  sister, 
they  still  seem  as  irreconcilable  as  their  faiths  a  thou- 
sand years  ago.  It  has  been  a  strange  companionship. 
The  oriental  loveliness  and  splendor  of  the  Giralda, 
like  that  of  Seville,  are  best  felt  at  the  twilight  hour, 
when  her  jewels  sparkle  in  the  last  rays  of  the  setting 
sun.  With  the  waning  light  the  coloring  becomes 
purple,  then  indigo,  while  the  silhouette  still  stands 
out  in  startling  clearness  and  strength  against  the 


280  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

spotless  blue  of  the  evening  sky.  You  feel  as  if  the 
whole  mountain  of  masonry  were  slowly  but  surely 
leaning  more  and  more  from  its  base  and  about  to 
bury  you  in  its  fall.  The  vermilion  and  ochre  coloring 
are  like  the  petals  of  the  rose.  Nowhere  is  the  surface 
uniform,  but  passes  gradually  from  light  cream  and 
buff  through  warmer  amber  to  brilliant  orange  and 
carmine  and  crimson  lake,  even  to  the  color  of  the 
pomegranate's  heart.  The  exquisite  surface  of  deli- 
cate tinting,  mellowed  by  the  storms  and  suns  of  cen- 
turies, is  everywhere  relieved  by  the  brilliant  sparkle, 
the  delicate  play  of  light  and  shade,  of  the  Moorish 
designs.  When  the  low  rays  of  the  Andalusian  sun  il- 
lumine the  Giralda,  just  touched  here  and  there  with 
dots  of  molten  gold  like  the  orange  trees  from  whose 
green  bed  it  rises,  you  see  the  boldest  creation  of 
Moorish  imagination  in  all  its  splendor.  The  great 
Cathedral  itself  becomes  a  modest  nun  with  rich,  but 
sombre,  cape  over  her  shoulders,  beside  this  dazzling 
creature  glowing  with  Saracenic  fire. 

The  Giralda  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  monuments  of 
that  enlightened  civilization.  She  is  so  different  from 
any  other  tower  that  comparison  becomes  difficult. 
There  is  a  robustness,  an  appearance  of  adequate 
solidity  and  strength  which  are  lacking  in  the  Italian 
towers  of  Saint  Mark's,  of  Pistoja,  or  of  Florence. 
This  holds  true  even  in  relation  to  other  Moorish 
towers,  or  such  edifices  as  the  Mosque  at  Cordova, 
the  Alcazar  at  Seville,  or  the  pillared  halls  of  Granada; 
all  other  Moorish  work  seems  to  have  a  certain  femi- 
nine weakness,  a  timidity  and  insecurity,  when  com- 
pared with  the  tower  which  dominates  Maria  San- 
tissima.  The  Giralda  is  your  first  and  last  impression 


SEVILLE  231 

of  this  comer  of  the  world,  for  it  embodies  all  the 
grace  and  strength  that  can  be  combined  in  architect- 
ure. Old  Spanish  authorities  assert  that  it  was  in  the 
very  year  when  believers  throughout  Christendom 
were  anxiously  expecting  the  end  of  the  world  that 
the  Moslem  infidels  began  to  build  their  huge  monu- 
ment. More  probably  it  was  started  about  the  year 
1185,  as  the  prayer  tower  or  minaret  of  the  mosque 
which  was  then  rapidly  progressing.  The  Spanish 
historian  Gayangos  says  that  it  was  completed  by 
Jabar  or  Gever  in  1196,  during  the  reign  of  the  illus- 
trious Almohad  ruler,  Abu  Jakub  Jusef,  the  same 
monarch  who  erected  the  Mesquita  at  Cordova. 
Other  authorities  insist  that  its  original  purpose  was 
as  an  observatory,  —  but  although  it  may  have  been 
used  for  astronomical  purposes,  it  was  certainly 
erected  as  a  tower  from  which  the  muezzin  could  call 
the  faithful  to  prayer  in  the  Mosque  of  Seville. 
While  building  it,  Gever  claims  to  have  invented  al- 
gebra. 

The  original  tower  has  undergone  skillful  but  of 
course  detrimental  changes  from  the  hands  of  later 
generations.  We  have  descriptions  and  representa- 
tions of  it  prior  to  the  changes  made  in  1500.  The 
main  Arab  structure  was,  like  almost  all  Moham- 
medan prayer-towers,  surmounted  by  a  smaller  tower 
and  capped  by  a  spire.  It  was  about  250  feet  high, 
and  on  its  sumimit  an  iron  standard  supported,  before 
the  earthquake  of  1395,  four  enormous  balls  of  brass. 
King  Alfonso  the  Wise,  in  his  "Cronica  de  Espana," 
describing  Seville  in  the  thirteenth  century,  says  that 
"when  the  sun  shone  upon  these  balls,  they  emitted  so 
fierce  a  light  that  they  might  be  seen  a  day's  journey 


m  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

away  from  the  city."  When  Seville  was  taken  by 
Saint  Ferdinand  in  1248,  the  tower  was  standing  in 
the  full  glory  of  its  original  conception.  The  thought 
that  it  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  conquerors  so 
horrified  its  builders  that  they  were  only  prevented 
from  detroying  it  by  Saint  Ferdinand's  threat  that, 
if  a  single  brick  were  removed,  not  an  infidel  in  Seville 
should  keep  his  head. 

The  Giralda  had  already  lost  the  Byzantine  crown 
which  it  had  worn  proudly  for  five  hundred  years  when, 
in  1595,  it  came  near  total  destruction,  and  was  only 
saved  during  the  terrible  earthquake  and  storm  which 
almost  destroyed  the  city  by  the  interposition  of  its 
special  protectresses,  the  potter  girls  of  Triana,  Santa 
Justa  and  Santa  Rufina.  There  are  pictures  which 
show  us  these  blessed  Virgins  supporting  the  tower 
while  the  wind  devils  with  distended  cheeks  are 
blowing  on  its  sides  with  all  their  might  and  main. 
We  are  not  only  grateful  to  them  for  this  timely  inter- 
vention, but  very  glad  it  cost  them  so  little  exertion, 
for  we  find  them  shortly  afterwards  holding  the 
tower  in  their  hands  as  lightly  as  a  filigree  casket. 
The  architects  who  restored  it  about  twenty  years 
ago  fortunately  refrained  from  all  attempts  at  im- 
proving or  renovating  its  sunburned,  wind-swept 
surface. 

The  Giralda  is  as  strong  as  it  looks.  The  huge  walls 
have  a  thickness  of  eight  feet  below,  diminishing  to 
seven  feet  in  the  upper  stories.  The  height  to  the  very 
top  of  the  crowning  figure  is  308  feet.  In  the  founda- 
tions are  bricks,  rubble,  and  huge  blocks  of  earlier 
Roman  and  Visigothic  masonry;  even  Latin  inscrip- 
tions are  found  immured.   The  Moors,  like  all  other 


SEVILLE  238 

builders,  used  the  materials  readiest  at  hand;  the 
rejected  building  stones  of  one  generation  become  the 
corner  stones  of  the  next. 

Below  the  Renaissance  addition  with  which  the 
tower  was  terminated  in  1568,  the  broad  sides  of  the 
shaft  had  been  broken  by  the  Arabs  in  the  simplest 
and  most  felicitous  manner.  The  brickwork  was 
treated  in  three  panels  with  the  corner  borders  very 
properly  broader  and  stronger  than  the  two  inter- 
mediate ones.  The  panels,  which  could  not  be  of  a 
happier  depth,  are  filled  down  to  eighty  feet  of  the 
ground  with  varying  Moorish  arabesque  patterns;  the 
figured  diaper- work  on  all  sides  is  broken  in  the  two 
outer  panels  by  blind  cusped  arches,  and  in  the  central 
patterns,  by  Moorish  windows  of  the  *'ajuiez"  vari- 
ety. Their  double  arches  are  subdivided  by  small 
Byzantine  columns;  these  again  are  framed  within 
larger  cusped  and  differently  broken  horseshoe  curves. 
Small  Renaissance  balconies  have  at  a  later  date 
been  placed  below  the  windows.  The  small  niches 
comprising  the  total  Moorish  composition  sparkle 
throughout  with  life  and  charm,  and,  though  no  two 
are  alike,  they  form  a  harmonious  whole.  The  Arab 
seemed  to  have  an  instinctive  aversion  from  tedious 
repetition.  He  would  always  vary  the  design  just 
enough  to  satisfy  his  imagination  and  creative  fac- 
ulty, but  never  sufliciently  to  disturb  the  harmony  of 
the  general  scheme.  As  with  the  windows,  so  also 
with  the  arabesques.  They  begin  at  slightly  varying 
heights  on  the  different  sides  of  the  tower,  so  that  the 
windows  may  properly  meet  the  different  elevations 
of  the  interior  stair.  Their  patterns  are  not  quite  the 
same,  neither  on  the  various  sides  of  the  tower  nor  at 


fm  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF   SPAIN 

diflFerent  heights  on  the  same  side.  The  decoration 
employed  is  admirably  fitted  to  a  large  surface  which 
would  have  been  weakened  by  strong  cutting  or  deep 
relief.  Considering  what  Arab  art  achieved  within 
prescribed  limits,  the  student  of  Christian  art  may 
well  deplore  that  the  Koran,  in  its  abhorrence  of  idol- 
worship,  forbade  its  followers  in  any  way  to  repro- 
duce human  or  animal  forms.  Forever  debarred  all 
the  wider  possibilities  of  movement  and  poetry  these 
would  have  given  them  for  interior  decoration,  Moor- 
ish art  necessarily  stagnated  to  mere  conventional- 
ization of  floral  and  natural  subjects.  These  are  well 
adapted  to  exterior  mural  surfacing.  When  we  look 
at  the  fancifully  handled  geometric  patterns  on  the 
Giralda,  we  can  only  rejoice  that  the  frescoes  added 
by  the  later  Renaissance  artists  in  the  upper  arches 
and  along  some  of  the  lower  surfaces  have  been 
washed  away  by  time.  They  were  ineffective;  all 
that  remains  of  Moorish  is  magnificent.  A  small 
arcade,  running  the  width  of  each  side  in  its  single 
panel,  terminates  the  Moorish  work. 

It  is  almost  to  be  regretted  that  the  Renaissance 
top  has  been  so  well  done,  for  its  barbarous  exotism 
is  suflScient  to  condemn  it.  It  has  excellently  fulfilled 
a  dastardly  purpose. 

The  original  Moorish  termination  was  taken  down 
by  the  architect,  Francisco  Ruiz,  who  was  commis- 
sioned by  the  Cathedral  Chapter  in  1568  to  give  it  a 
more  fitting  crown.  His  design  consists  of  three  stages 
reaching  to  a  height  of  about  a  hundred  feet.  The 
first,  of  the  same  width  as  the  shaft  below,  is  pierced 
by  openings  "to  let  out  the  sweet  sounds  of  the  bells 
inside."  The  second  stage  consists  of  a  double  tier  of 


SEVILLE  235 

considerably  smaller  squares  pierced  by  wide  arches. 
Around  the  four  sides  of  its  upper  frieze  runs  the 
inscription  so  legible  that  all  Sevillians  who  know 
how  may  read,  "Nomen  Domini  Fortissima  Turris" 
(Proverbs,  xviii,  10).  The  third  stage  consists  of  a 
double  lantern  surmounted  by  a  soaring  Seraphim, 
bearing  in  one  hand  the  banner  of  Constantine  and  in 
the  other  the  Roman  palm  of  conquest.  The  "  Gi- 
rardello"  was  cast  in  gilded  bronze  by  Bartolome 
Morel  in  the  year  1568.  Intended  to  symbohze  Faith, 
the  name,  a  diminutive  of  Giralda,  or  weathercock,  is 
most  inappropriate.  Despite  her  enormous  size  and 
weight,  the  faintest  zephyr  blowing  down  from  the 
Sierra  Morena  sets  her  turning  on  the  spire  she  treads 
so  lightly,  whereupon  the  crowds  of  hawks  resting  on 
Girardello  disperse  in  noisy  scolding. 

Dumas  gazed  at  her  in  wonder  and  admiration. 
"C'est  merveilleux,"  he  said,  "de  voir  tourner  dans 
un  rayon  de  soleil  cette  figure  d'or  aux  ailes  deployees, 
qui  semble,  comme  un  oiseau  celeste  fatigue  d'une 
longue  course,  avoir  choisi  pour  se  reposer  un  instant 
le  point  le  plus  proche  du  ciel." 

The  great  bells  of  the  tower,  all  baptized  with  holy 
oil,  a  custom  very  frequent  in  Spain,  are  dear  to  the 
hearts  of  those  whom  they  daily  call  to  rest  and  prayer. 
As  they  strike  the  hours,  passers-by  look  up  to  see 
their  great  tongues  protrude.  Their  sweet  peal  is 
heard  in  the  most  distant  quarters  of  the  city,  and 
beyond  on  the  waters  of  the  Guadalquiver  and  in  the 
fertile  valley  through  which  it  flows.  The  deep  reso- 
nant note  of  Santa  Maria  is  the  last  sound  we  hear 
before  falling  asleep. 

Inside  you  may  ascend  to  the  very  summit  by 


«86  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

steps  so  broad  and  easy  that  two  horses  abreast  may 
go  as  far  as  the  platform  of  the  bells.  Below  you  lies 
the  city  with  its  scattered  white  buildings  that  once 
housed  half  a  million,  and  beyond,  the  valley  that  en- 
folded twelve  thousand  villages.  Though  dwindled 
and  changed,  time  has  dealt  gently  with  Seville. 
There  is  gay  laughter  in  her  sunny  streets  and  the 
olive  groves  echo  with  rippling  song.  Just  under 
your  feet  throbs  the  heart  of  it  all.  Though  repeat- 
edly struck  by  lightning,  the  great  Cathedral  still 
stands,  an  everlasting  symbol  of  the  Church,  tri- 
umphant and  eternal. 


VIII 
GRANADA 


Photo  by  J .  Liacoste,  Madrid 


CATHEDRAL  OF  GRANADA 
West  front 


VIII 
GRANADA 

Kennst  du  das  Land  wo  die  Citronen  bluhn, 
Im  dunkeln  Land  die  Goldorangen  gliihn, 
Ein  sanfter  Wind  vom  blauen  Himmel  weht. 
Die  Myrte  still  und  hoch  der  Lorbeer  steht? 

Goethe's  Wilhelm  Meister, 

Thus  being  entred,  they  behold  arownd 
A  large  and  spacious  plaine,  on  every  side 
Strewed  with  pleasauns,  whose  fayre  grassy  grownd 
Mantled  with  greene,  and  goodly  beautifide 
With  all  the  ornaments  of  Floraes  pride. 

Faerie  Queene,  book  2,  c.  xii. 


THE  first  stars  shone  pale  in  the  fields  of  upper 
air  over  walls  and  towers  wrapt  in  the  mystery 
of  twilight  which  softened  every  outline  and  cast  a 
kindly  veil  over  the  decay  of  a  thousand  years.  The 
air  was  oppressively  sweet  with  the  fragrance  exhaled 
by  southern  vegetation  on  a  summer  evening.  The 
roses  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  walls,  where  they 
could  cool  their  flushed  cheeks  on  the  marble  copings 
of  the  battlements.  The  myrtle  and  ivy  trembled  in 
the  evening  breeze,  and  through  the  broken  case- 
ments the  aloes  whispered  to  the  sweet-breathing 
orange  trees  in  the  courtyards.  The  martlet  twittered 
in  the  branches.  On  all  sides  was  heard  in  cool  silvery 
continuity  the  gurgle  and  plash  of  streams  which, 
issuing  from  mountain  snows,  had  wound  their  loi- 
tering way  through  fields  of  violets  and  forget-me- 
nots  to  the  "large  and  spacious  plaine"  of  the  Vega. 


1140  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

The  fairy  palace  of  the  Alhambra,  the  Acropolis  that 
once  held  forty  thousand  defenders  of  the  faith, 
crowns  and  encircles  the  hill.  From  its  watch-tower 
the  nightingales  pour  forth  lovers*  songs,  plaintive 
and  passionate,  heightening  the  enchantment  of  a 
scene  unsurpassed  in  natural  loveliness  and  the  charm 
of  a  romantic  past. 

The  hillsides  undulating  from  the  vermilion  ram- 
parts of  the  Alhambra  are  clad  with  graceful  elms, 
with  orange  and  pomegranate  trees  bearing  deep  red 
and  golden  fruit  and  with  the  mulberry's  glistening 
olive  green.  Here  and  there  are  open  spaces  between 
the  groves;  fields  of  roses  and  lilies.  The  Darro  and 
the  Xenil  flow  by  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  from  their 
banks  for  almost  thirty  miles  stretches  the  Vega. 
At  the  base  of  the  fortress,  between  the  rivers,  lies  the 
city  of  Granada,  — 

The  artist's  and  the  poet's  theme, 

The  young  man's  vision,  the  old  man's  dream,  — 

Granada,  by  its  winding  stream. 

The  City  of  the  Moor. 

Out  on  the  plain  the  settlement  becomes  gradually 
sparser,  the  houses  more  scattered.  White  stucco 
walls  are  interspersed  with  plots  of  green  garden,  the 
ochre  houses  are  smaller  shining  patches  amid  the 
yellow-flowering  fig-cactus  and  the  regularly  planted 
olive  groves,  until  finally  the  eye  must  search  for  the 
farmhouse  hidden  among  vineyards,  orchards  and 
waving  fields  of  corn.  The  gleaming  villas  and  farm- 
houses still  look  as  they  did  to  the  Moor,  like  ''orien- 
tal pearls  set  in  a  cup  of  emeralds." 

The  endless  plain,  once  the  fertile  bosom  of  four- 
teen  cities,   innumerable   strong   castles   and   high 


GRANADA  241 

watch-towers,  is  shut  in  from  the  outside  world  like 
a  very  Garden  of  Eden,  by  the  mountain  walls  of 
the  Alpuj  arras  and  Sierra  Alhama.  Far  away  on  the 
horizon  the  barrier  is  broken  at  a  single  point,  the 
Loja  gorge.  This  was  once  guarded  by  sentinels  ever 
on  the  watch  for  the  distant  gleam  of  Christian  lances 
to  light  the  fires  that  signaled  approaching  danger  to 
the  distant  citadel.  Most  Spanish  cities  were  densely 
built  within  high  walls,  but  Granada  felt  so  secure  in 
her  mountain  fortress  that  her  dwellings  were  strewn 
broadcast  over  the  plain.  Behind  the  walls  of  the 
Alhambra,  on  a  second  slope  wooded  with  cypress, 
the  brilliant  towers  of  the  Generaliffe  gleam  against 
the  dark  foliage.  Beyond,  across  the  whole  southern 
sweep,  rises  the  chalky,  hazy  blue  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada, capped  with  glittering,  everlasting  snow.  Gaz- 
ing up  from  the  valley  below,  one  might  fancy  it  a 
white  veil  thrown  back  from  the  lovely  features  of 
the  landscape. 

Thus  lies  Granada,  a  verdant  and  perfumed  valley 
wrapt  in  the  soft  mystery  of  its  hazy  atmosphere,  — 
"  Grenade, — plus  eclatante  que  la  fleur  et  plus  savou- 
reuse  que  le  fruit,  dont  elle  porte  le  nom,  semble  une 
vierge  paresseuse  qui  s'est  couchee  au  soleil  depuis 
le  jour  de  la  creation  dans  un  lit  de  bruyeres  et 
de  mousse,  defendue  par  une  muraille  de  cactus  et 
d'aloes,  —  elle  s'endort  gaiement  aux  chansons  des 
oiseaux  et  le  matin  s'eveille  souriante  au  murmure  de 
ses  cascatelles."^ 

More  than  any  other  spot  on  earth,  Granada  seems 
haunted  by  memories  of  bygone  glory.  The  wide 
plains,  now  inhabited  by  less  than  seventy-five  thou- 
*  Impressions  de  Voyage,  Alexandre  Dumas. 


242  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

sand,  once  swarmed  with  over  half  a  milhon  souls. 
The  artist  feels  poignantly  the  charm  of  those  long 
centuries  of  Arabian  Days  and  Nights  that  were  for- 
ever blotted  out  by  the  zeal  of  the  Christian  sword. 
The  ruined  temples  still  attest  the  thrift  and  industry, 
the  refinement  and  learning  of  the  vanished  race;  the 
squalid  poverty  that  has  replaced  it  is  deaf  and  blind 
to  the  records  of  ancient  grandeur,  but  the  traveler 
and  the  historian  may  still  be  thrilled  by  the  struggle 
that  destroyed  "the  most  voluptuous  of  all  retire- 
ments" and  feel  there  as  nowhere  else  the  relentless 
power  of  the  most  Catholic  Eangs,  the  pathos  of  the 
Moor. 

Granada  is  a  very  old  city,  and  like  Cordova  and 
Seville,  it  was  one  of  the  principal  Moorish  centres;  in 
fact  after  their  fall,  the  industries  and  culture  which 
had  been  theirs  went  to  swell  the  inheritance  of 
Granada.  Its  name  has  always  been  associated  with 
the  scarlet-blossoming  tree  which  covers  its  slopes, 
whose  fruit  the  Catholic  sovereigns  proudly  placed  in 
the  point  of  their  shield,  with  stalks  and  leaves  and 
shell  open-grained.  During  the  Roman  occupation,  a 
settlement  had  been  made  on  the  wooded  slopes  at 
the  foot  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  called  Granatum 
(pomegranate).  The  Goths  in  their  turn  swept  over 
the  peninsula  until,  in  711,  they  were  driven  out  of  the 
valley  by  the  advancing  Arab  hordes.  These  trans- 
formed the  name  given  it  by  the  Romans  to  Karnattah. 
Seven  hundred  and  eighty-two  years  passed  before  the 
Crescent  set  forever  on  the  Iberian  peninsula.  Dy- 
nasties had  succeeded  one  another  in  the  various 
kingdoms  formed  of  larger  and  smaller  portions  of 
southern  and  central  Spain,  but  in  the  north,  hardy 


KEY  OP  PLAN  OF  GRANADA  CATHEDRAL 


A.  Sagrario. 

B.  Royal  Chapel. 

C.  Capilla  Mayor. 

D.  Choir. 


E.  Door  of  the  Perdon. 

F.  Door  of  St.  Jeronirao. 
6.   Main  Entrance. 


GRANADA  243 

monarchs  had  founded  more  stable  thrones  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Gothic  Empire,  and  they  were  eagerly 
watching  the  advancing  decay,  the  domestic  discord 
of  the  Mohammedan  power  and  grasping  every  op- 
portunity for  the  aggrandizement  of  their  own  states. 

In  the  tenth  century,  the  Moorish  power  was  at  its 
zenith.  During  the  eleventh,  Granada  had  become 
strong  enough  to  break  away  from  the  caliphate  of 
Cordova.  There  the  Almorvides  and  Almohades 
dynasties  had  alternated  while  the  Nasrides  ruled  in 
the  kingdom  and  city  of  Granada  until  the  luckless 
Boabdil  surrendered  its  keys. 

During  the  last  three  centuries  of  Moorish  rule, 
the  northern  Cross  cast  an  ever  longer  shadow  before 
it.  Alfonso  of  Aragon  advanced  to  within  the  walls 
of  the  outer  forts  in  1125,  and  in  the  two  and  a  half 
centuries  following,  tribute  was  exacted  by  the  crown 
of  Castile.  The  Moors  of  Cordova  were  more  hardy 
and  warlike  than  the  Arabs  of  Granada.  The  arts  of 
peace  flourished  with  this  latter  poetical,  artistic  and 
commercial  race,  who  as  time  went  on  became  less 
and  less  able  to  defend  themselves  against  the  fanat- 
icism and  skill  of  the  Spanish  armies.  Like  Hannibal's 
soldiers  on  the  fertile  plains  of  Lombardy,  they  had 
become  enervated  in  the  luxury  of  their  beautiful 
valley.  When  their  imprudent  ruler  answered  the 
Castilian  envoys  who  had  come  to  collect  the  usual 
tribute,  "that  the  Kings  of  Granada  who  paid  tribute 
were  dead,  and  that  the  mint  now  only  coined  blades 
of  scimeters  and  heads  of  lances,"  the  hour  of  Gra- 
nada's destiny  had  struck.  The  smiling  valley  be- 
came for  ten  years  a  field  of  blood  and  carnage, 
after  which  its  devastation  was  relentlessly  com- 
pleted by  the  Holy  Office  of  the  Inquisition. 


244  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  entered  the  last  stronghold 
of  the  Moors  in  the  very  year  when  the  history  of  the 
civilized  world  was  changing  its  course.  Its  helms- 
man, Columbus,  was  received  in  the  Castilian  camp 
outside  the  walls  of  the  beleaguered  city.  On  the 
second  of  January,  1492,  Hernando,  Bishop  of  Avila, 
raised  the  Christian  Cross  beside  the  banner  of  Castile 
on  the  ramparts  of  the  highest  tower  of  the  Alhambra; 
four  days  later,  on  the  day  of  the  Kings  and  the  festi- 
val of  the  Epiphany,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  entered 
the  city. 

"The  royal  procession  advanced  to  the  principal 
mosque,  which  had  been  consecrated  as  a  cathedral. 
Here  the  sovereigns  offered  up  prayers  and  thanks- 
givings and  the  choir  of  the  royal  chapel  chanted  a 
triumphant  anthem,  in  which  they  were  joined  by  the 
courtiers  and  cavaliers.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
thankfulness  to  God  of  the  pious  King  Ferdinand  for 
having  enabled  him  to  eradicate  from  Spain  the  em- 
pire and  name  of  that  accursed  heathen  race,  and  for 
the  elevation  of  the  Cross  in  that  city  where  the  im- 
pious doctrines  of  Mohamed  had  so  long  been  cher- 
ished." 

Bells  were  rung  and  masses  celebrated  in  gratitude 
throughout  the  Christian  world.  As  far  away  as  Saint 
Paul's  in  London  town,  a  special  Te  Deum  was 
chanted  by  order  of  the  good  King  Henry  the  Seventh. 
Spain  had  reached  the  summit  of  her  glory,  before 
which  yawned  the  abyss. 

And  now  in  the  name  of  Christ  the  Inquisition  was 
established  and  one  of  its  chief  oflSces  founded;  in  His 
name  the  Jews  were  driven  out.  Christian  oaths  and 
^  Washington  Irving's  Granada. 


GRANADA  245 

covenants  broken,  and  the  peaceful  Moorish  inhab- 
itants hounded  from  their  hearths.  Under  PhiHp  III, 
in  1609,  their  last  descendants  were  banished  from 
the  realm. 

No  scene  of  chivalry  during  the  middle  ages  dis- 
played a  more  brilliant  and  bloody  pageant  than  the 
battlefield  of  Granada.  It  was  the  culmination  of  the 
work  of  Spain's  greatest  rulers,  —  the  great  crisis  in 
her  history. 

Here  gallants  held  it  little  thing  for  ladies'  sake  to  die. 
Or  for  the  Prophet's  honour,  or  pride  of  Soldenry. 
For  here  did  Valour  flourish  and  deeds  of  warlike  might 
Ennobled  lordly  palaces  in  which  was  our  delight.^ 

Gazing  over  this  famous  plain,  the  Vega,  that  "Pearl 
of  Price,"  with  its  courtyards  now  desolate,  its  gar- 
dens parched  and  well-nigh  calcined  by  the  sun,  one 
recalls  Voltaire's  words:  *' Great  wrongs  are  always 
recent  wounds!"  and  long  years  have  passed  since 
the  iron  heel  of  Austria  set  its  first  impress  on  the  soil. 

James  Howell,  the  English  traveler  and  busybody 
in  the  capital  at  the  time  Prince  Charles  went  sur- 
reptitiously wooing,  writes  home  in  1623,  after  visiting 
Granada:  "Since  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors,  it  is 
also  grown  thinner,  and  not  so  full  of  corn;  for  those 
Moors  would  grub  up  wheat  out  of  the  very  tops  of 
the  craggy  hills,  yet  they  used  another  grain  for  their 
bread,  so  that  the  Spaniard  had  nought  else  to  do  but 
go  with  his  ass  to  the  market  and  buy  the  com  of  the 
Moors." 

Only  once  more  does  Granada's  name  emerge  from 
the  oblivion  of  ages,  —  when  the  Iron  Duke  occupied 

^  Lockhart's  Spanish  Ballads. 


246  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

the  city  during  the  Peninsular  War.  He  covered  with 
a  kindly  hand  some  of  her  barrenness,  planting  Eng- 
lish elms  beneath  her  fortress. 


n 


In  the  heart  of  a  crumbling  mass  of  chalky,  chrome- 
colored  walls  and  vermilion  roofs,  rises  the  dome  of 
the  Cathedral.  Herie,  as  in  Seville,  the  ground  once 
sanctified  to  Moslem  prayer  was  cleansed  by  the 
Catholics  from  the  pollution  of  the  Moor,  and  the 
Christian  edifice  was  reared  on  the  foundations  of 
the  Mohammedan  mosque.  As  already  noted,  one  of 
the  first  religious  acts  of  the  conquerors  was  the  con- 
secration, in  January,  1492,  of  the  ancient  mosque, 
which  thereafter  was  used  for  Christian  worship  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  wise  and  tolerant  Talavera, 
as  first  Bishop  of  Granada.  The  new  building  was  not 
begun  until  the  year  1523,  an  exceedingly  late  date  in 
cathedral-building,  —  a  time  when  the  great  art  was 
slowly  dying  down,  and,  in  northern  countries,  flicker- 
ing in  its  last  flamboyancy. 

On  March  25, 1525,  the  corner  stone  was  laid  of  the 
new  Cathedral  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Encarnacion. 
It  was  planned  on  a  much  more  elaborate  scale  than 
the  previous  mosque,  which,  however,  continued  to 
be  independently  used  as  a  Christian  church  until  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  was  not  de- 
molished till  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth,  to  make 
room  for  the  new  sagrario,  or  parish  church,  of  Santa 
Maria  de  la  O. 

The  old  mosque  was  of  the  usual  type  of  Moslem 


GRANADA  247 

house  of  prayer,  its  eleven  aisles  subdivided  by  a 
forest  of  columns  and  resembling  in  general  aspect  the 
far  greater  mosque  of  Cordova.  Prior  to  the  actual 
commencement  of  the  new  Cathedral,  though  not  to 
its  design,  the  Royal  Chapel  was  erected,  between  the 
years  1506  and  1517,  and  when  the  Cathedral  was 
built,  it  became  its  southern,  lateral  termination  and 
by  far  the  most  magnificent  and  interesting  portion 
of  the  interior.  It  was  planned  and  executed  by  the 
original  designer  of  the  church,  and  even  after  this  was 
finished,  the  Royal  Chapel  remained,  like  the  chapel 
of  Saint  Ferdinand  of  Seville,  an  independent  church 
with  its  own  Chapter  and  clergy  and  independent 
services. 

About  a  dozen  master  builders,  almost  all  working 
under  foreign  influence,  are  known  as  the  architects  of 
the  great  Spanish  cathedrals.  They  seem  generally  to 
have  worked  more  or  less  in  conjunction  with  each 
other,  several  being  employed  on  the  same  building, 
or  called  in  turn  to  advise  in  one  place  or  superintend 
in  another.  Sometimes  a  whole  body  of  them  reported 
together,  or  several  of  them  were  jointly  consulted  by 
a  cathedral  chapter. 

The  original  conception  of  the  Cathedral  of  Gra- 
nada was  the  work  of  Enrique  de  Egas  of  Brussels, 
who,  when  he  was  commissioned  by  the  new  Chap- 
ter to  plan  a  fitting  memorial  to  the  final  triumph 
of  Christianity  over  Islam  in  Spain,  was  among  the 
most  celebrated  builders  of  his  day.  He  had  already 
succeeded  his  father  as  Maestro  Mayor  of  the  Cathe- 
dral of  Toledo  when,  just  before  his  death,  in  1534,  he 
executed  the  Royal  Chapel  of  Granada  Cathedral,  as 
well  as  built  the  hospital  of  Santa  Cruz  in  the  same 


248  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

city.  The  Colegio  de  Santa  Cruz  at  Valladolid  was 
also  his  work,  and  he  had  been  summoned  with  other 
leading  architects  to  decide  the  best  mode  of  proced- 
ure in  Seville  Cathedral  after  the  disastrous  collapse  of 
its  dome.  At  times  he  was  giving  advice  in  both  Sara- 
gossa  and  Salamanca.  Enrique  de  Egas'  designs  were 
accepted  in  1523.  He  had  hardly  proceeded  further 
in  two  years  than  to  lay  out  the  general  plan  of  the 
Cathedral,  when,  either  through  misunderstanding  or 
some  controversy,  he  was  supplanted  in  his  oflfice  by 
the  equally  celebrated  Diego  de  Siloe.  Like  Egas,  his 
activity  was  not  confined  to  Granada,  but  extended 
to  Seville  and  Malaga. 

In  the  year  1561,  two  years  before  Siloe's  death, 
the  building  was  sufficiently  completed  to  be  opened 
for  public  worship,  and  consequently  on  August  17th 
of  that  year  it  was  solemnly  consecrated.  The  found- 
ations and  lower  portion  of  the  northern  tower  were 
executed  about  this  time  by  Siloe's  successor,  Juan 
de  Maedo.  The  tower  was  completed  and  partially 
taken  down  again  during  the  following  twenty  years 
by  Ambrosio  de  Vico.  Then  follows  the  main  portion 
of  the  exterior  work,  especially  the  west  fagade  (of 
the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century),  by  the  cele- 
brated, not  to  say  notorious,  Alfonso  de  Cano,  and 
Jose  Granados.  The  decoration  of  the  interior,  the 
addition  of  chapels  and  the  building  of  the  sagrario 
were  continued  through  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  centuries. 

The  building  operations  thus  extended  over  a  period 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Alfonso  de  Cano's 
reputation  was  of  various  kinds;  the  son  of  a  carpen- 
ter and  a  native  of  Granada,  as  soon  as  his  talents 


GRANADA  249 

were  recognized,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  great 
Montanes.  To  judge  from  contemporaneous  ac- 
counts, he  must  have  been  as  hot-headed  and  quarrel- 
some as  the  Florentine  goldsmith  of  similar  talents 
and  versatility.  He  was  always  ready  to  exchange  the 
paint-brush  or  chisel  for  his  good  sword,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  day  during  the  years  of  his  connection  with 
the  Cathedral  in  which  he  was  not  enjoying  a  hot 
controversy  with  the  Chapter.  His  favor  with  the 
weak  monarch  and  the  powerful  ruling  Conde-Duc 
was  so  great  that  they  had  the  audacity  to  appoint 
him  a  prebendary  of  the  Chapter  after  he  had  been 
forced  to  fly  from  justice  in  Valladolid  on  a  charge  of 
murder,  as  well  as  for  having  beaten  his  wife  on  his 
return  from  a  meeting  of  the  ecclesiastical  body.  The 
Chapter  deprived  him  of  his  office  as  soon  as  they 
dared,  which  was  six  years  after  his  appointment. 

Egas'  original  plan,  like  the  work  he  actually  car- 
ried out  in  the  Royal  Chapel,  was  undoubtedly  for  a 
Gothic  edifice,  as  this  style  was  understood  and  exe- 
cuted in  Spain.  From  the  fact  that  the  original 
Gothic  intention  was  abandoned  for  a  Spanish  Re- 
naissance church,  many  authorities  give  the  date  of 
its  commencement  as  1529,  when  Diego  de  Siloe's 
Renaissance  work  was  under  way.  In  the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  and  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  centuries,  the 
great  turning-point  had  come.  Italian  influences 
were  beginning  to  predominate  over  earlier  styles  and 
the  last  exquisite  flames  of  the  Gothic  fire  were  slowly 
dying  out  to  give  place  to  the  heavy  Renaissance 
structure  of  ecclesiastical  inspiration.  Spaniards 
who  had  returned  fresh  from  Italian  soil  and  tutelage 
evolved  with  their  ornate  sense  and  characteristic 


250  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

love  for  magnfficence,  the  style,  or  rather  decorative 
treatment,  which  marks  the  first  stage  of  Spanish 
Renaissance  architecture  called  "Estilo  Plateresco." 
This  is  a  happy  name  for  it,  its  derivation  being  from 
**plata,"  or  silver  plate,  and  indicating  that  architects 
were  attempting  to  decorate  the  huge  superficial 
spaces  on  their  churches  with  the  same  intricacy  and 
sparkle  as  the  silversmiths  were  hammering  on  their 
ornaments.  There  was  evolved  the  same  lace-like 
quality,  the  same  sparkling  light  and  shade.  Won- 
derful results  were  indeed  obtained  by  the  stone- 
cutters of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  Cathedral  of  Granada  is  not  at  all  remarkable. 
Its  interest  is  derived  from  the  city  of  which  it  is  the 
chief  Christian  edifice  and  the  great  bodies  which  it 
contains;  to  students  of  architecture  it  is  in  a  manner 
a  connecting  link  between  the  Gothic  building  of  the 
middle  ages  and  the  modern  revival  of  classical  build- 
ing methods. 

It  is  the  death  of  the  old  and  the  birth  of  the  new; 
it  marks  the  advent  of  stagnant,  uninspired  formal- 
ism in  constructive  forms.  Its  sarcophagi  and  much 
of  its  decoration  are  both  in  design  and  execution 
most  exquisite  and  appropriate  examples  of  Renais- 
sance art  in  Spain.  Its  easy  victory  in  decorative 
forms  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  there  had  practically 
been  evolved  little  or  no  Spanish  ornamental  design 
outside  of  that  produced  by  the  ingenuity  and  pecu- 
liar skill  of  the  Moors.  The  influence  of  Moorish  de- 
sign is  long  traceable  in  Christian  decoration.  The 
Spanish  nature  craves  rich  adornment  in  all  material. 
The  art  of  the  great  sculptors  who,  like  Berruguete, 
returned  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  century  with 


GRANADA  251 

inspiration  gained  in  the  workshops  of  the  Florentine 
Michael  Angelo,  soon  found  a  host  of  pupils  and  fol- 
lowers. Not  only  in  stone,  but  in  wood,  metal,  plaster, 
and  on  canvas,  the  new  forms  were  carried  to  a  gor- 
geous profusion  never  dreamt  of  before.  Charles  V 
stands  out  amid  its  glories  in  as  clear  relief  as  in  the 
tumult  of  the  battlefield.  The  decline  and  frigid 
formality  did  not  set  in  until  the  reign  of  his  unim- 
passioned  and  repulsive  son.  The  grandest  epoch  in 
Spain's  history  thus  corresponds  to  the  most  inspired 
period  of  its  sculpture.  The  first  architects  of  this 
period  worked  on  Granada  Cathedral;  the  work  of  the 
greatest  sculptor,  the  Burgundian  Vigarni,  is  found  in 
inferior  form  on  the  retablo  of  the  Royal  Chapel.  In 
Spain,  where  the  climate  made  small  window  open- 
ings desirable,  the  churches  offered  great  wall  spaces 
to  the  sculptor.  The  splendid  portals,  window  frames, 
turrets  and  parapets,  the  capitals  and  string  courses 
and  niches  all  became  rich  fields  for  Spanish  interpre- 
tation of  the  exquisite  art  of  Lombardy. 

The  new  art  first  found  tentative  expression  in 
decorative  forms,  then  in  more  radical  and  structural 
changes.  The  world  empire  of  which  Ferdinand  had 
dreamed,  and  which  his  grandson  almost  possessed, 
placed  untold  wealth  and  the  art  of  every  kingdom  at 
the  disposal  of  Spain. 

Granada  Cathedral  has  a  strange  exterior,  meaning- 
less except  in  certain  portions,  which  are  essentially 
Spanish.  To  the  Granadines  it  is  as  marvelous  as  Saint 
Peter's  to  the  Romans.  Its  view  is  obstructed  on 
all  sides  by  a  maze  of  crumbling  walls,  yellow  hovels, 
and  shop  fronts  shockingly  modern  and  out  of  keep- 
ing. It  is  all  very,  very  provincial.  The  stream  of  the 


852  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

world  has  left  it  behind  and  its  pageants  and  glories 
had  departed  centuries  ago.  Donkeys  heavily  laden 
with  baskets  of  market  produce  stand  —  personi- 
fications of  wronged  and  unremonstrating  patience 
—  hitched  to  the  iron  rails  before  its  main  portals. 
Goats  browse  on  the  grass  in  its  courtyards,  and  are 
milked  between  the  buttresses.  Immediately  to  the 
south  of  it  lies  the  old  episcopal  palace,  where  the 
archbishop  preached  the  sermons  criticized  by  the 
ingenuous  Gil  Bias. 

The  main  entrance  is  to  the  west.  This  front  is  the 
latest  portion  of  the  building  with  the  exception  of 
certain  portions  of  the  interior.  Though  not  as  cor- 
rupt as  some  of  the  surgical  decorations  in  the  tras- 
coro,  it  is  the  heaviest  and  least  interesting  part  of 
the  church.  It  bears  no  relation  to  the  sides  of  the 
building,  but  seems  to  have  been  clapped  on  like  a 
mask.  The  central  portion  is  subdivided  into  three 
huge  bays,  the  spring  of  the  arch,  which  rises  from  the 
intermediate  piers,  being  considerably  higher  in  the 
centre  than  those  of  the  two  to  the  north  and  south. 
Diego  de  Siloe  probably  designed  the  composition, 
intending  that  it  should  be  flanked  and  terminated  by 
great  towers.  Three  stages,  rising  to  a  height  of  some 
185  feet,  stand  to  the  north.  Corinthian  and  Ionic 
orders  superimpose  a  Doric  entablature  over  a  plain 
and  restrained  base.  Arches  frame  more  or  less  mean- 
ingless and  unpierced  designs  between  the  pilasters 
and  engaged  columns  of  the  orders.  The  whole  is  as 
painfully  dry  as  the  transfer  of  a  student's  compass 
from  a  page  of  Vignola.  Old  cuts  and  descriptions  re- 
present this  northern  tower  crowned  by  an  octagonal 
termination  with  a  height  of  2Q5  feet.    Despite  the 


GRANADA  253 

apparent  massiveness  of  the  substructure,  this  soon 
made  the  whole  so  alarmingly  insecure  that  it  was 
pulled  down.  The  present  tower  scarcely  reaches 
above  the  broken  lines  and  flat  surfaces  of  the  roof 
tiles  and,  particularly  at  a  distance,  has  the  effect  of  a 
huge  buttress.  The  southern  tower  was  never  erected, 
but  in  place  of  it  the  front  was  supported  by  a  make- 
shift portion  of  base.  The  northern  tower  is  the  work 
of  Maeda,  the  fagade  principally  by  Cano,  although 
much  of  the  sculpture,  such  as  the  Incarnation  over 
the  central  doorway,  and  the  Annunciation  and 
Assumption  over  the  side  portals,  are  by  other  in- 
ferior eighteenth-century  sculptors. 

Statues,  cartouches  and  ornamental  medallions  re- 
lieve the  paneled  surfaces  of  the  stonework,  the  ma- 
sonry of  which  has  been  laid  and  jointed  with  the 
utmost  conceivable  mechanical  skill.  The  whole  cen- 
tral composition  fizzles  out  in  a  meaningless  mass 
of  parapets  and  variously  carved  stone  terminations. 
One  feels  as  if  the  original  designer  had  started  on  such 
a  gigantic  scale  that  he  either  had  to  give  up  finishing 
his  work  proportionately  or  keep  on  till  it  reached 
the  sky, — he  wisely  chose  the  former  alternative. 

In  Granada,  as  in  most  of  the  Spanish  cathedrals, 
the  decoration  of  the  doorways  and  portals  forms  one 
of  the  principal  features  of  exterior  interest.  Their 
ornamentation,  with  that  of  the  parapets  crowning 
the  outer  walls  of  chapels  and  aisles,  is  practically  all 
that  relieves  the  huge  surfaces  of  ochre  masonry. 
The  walls  themselves  indicate  in  no  manner  the  in- 
terior construction;  the  windows  which  pierce  them 
are  very  low  and  narrow  and  Gothic  in  outline.  The 
north  and  south  facades,  —  if  despite  their  many 


254  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

obstructions  they  may  be  spoken  of  as  such, — differ 
radically.  The  northern  is  to  a  great  extent  executed 
in  the  same  ponderous  magnificence  as  the  western. 
Two  doorways  pierce  it,  the  Puerta  de  San  Jeronimo 
with  mediocre  sculpture  by  Diego  de  Siloe  and  his 
pupil  and  successor,  Juan  de  Maeda,  and  the  Puerta 
del  Perdon,  leading  into  the  transept.  The  decoration 
of  this  doorway  is  as  good  pure  Renaissance  work  as 
was  executed  in  Spain  during  the  first  quarter  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  It  consists  of  a  double  Corinthian 
order  crowned  by  a  broken  pediment.  The  shafts  of 
both  orders  are  wreathed.  The  pilasters,  the  moldings 
of  the  arch,  the  archivolt  and  jambs  are  all,  in  the 
lower  order,  most  profusely  covered  with  exquisite 
designs,  admirably  fitted  to  their  respective  fields, 
full  of  imagination  and  virility.  They  are  as  good  as 
the  best  corresponding  work  in  Italy.  Above  the  arch 
key  of  the  main  door,  splendidly  treated  bas-reliefs  of 
Faith  and  Justice  support  from  the  spandrels  an  in- 
scription recounting  the  defeat  of  the  Moors.  The 
frieze  band  of  both  lower  and  upper  orders  is  pro- 
fusely filled  with  ornament,  while  small  cherubs  in 
excellent  scale  replace  the  conventional  volutes  of  the 
Corinthian  capitals.  In  the  upper  order  the  niches 
have  unfortunately  been  left  uncompleted.  A  bas- 
relief  of  God  the  Father  fills  the  semicircle  of  the 
main  arch;  Moses  and  David  occupy  the  lunettes. 

The  huge  pilasters  or  buttresses  of  the  church  which 
run  up  east  and  west  of  the  entire  composition  are 
decorated  with  the  enormous  imperial  shields  of 
Charies  V,  overshadowing  in  their  vulgar  predomi- 
nance all  the  exquisitely  proportioned  and  delicate 
detail  adjacent  to  them. 


GRANADA  ^5 

Some  of  the  bays  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Cathe- 
dral can  be  better  seen,  as  a  small  courtyard  separates 
them  from  the  adjacent  building,  the  episcopal  pal- 
ace. The  others  are  choked  by  the  Capilla  del  Pul- 
gar,  the  Royal  Chapel  and  the  sagrario. 

This  side  of  the  church  exhibits  in  its  balustrades, 
its  ornamentation  and  the  crocketed  terminations  and 
finials  to  the  exterior  buttresses,  what  is  far  more  in- 
teresting in  the  Plateresque  style  of  Spain  than  the 
purely  borrowed  and  imitative  features  of  the  west  and 
northern  fronts.  Here  appear  in  jeweled  play  of  light 
and  shade,  in  all  their  imaginative  and  exquisite  in- 
tricacy, those  forms  of  carved  string  courses  which 
were  developed  by  the  Spanish  Renaissance  and  were 
essentially  Spanish  and  national.  You  feel  somewhere 
back  of  it  the  Moorish  influence.  It  presents  all  the 
richness,  the  magnificence  and  exuberant  fancy  which 
characterizes  the  spirit  in  which  its  masters  worked. 
The  labor  it  involved  must  have  been  enormous. 
The  splendor  of  the  solid  lacework  ten  to  twelve  feet 
high  is  thrown  out  by  contrast  with  the  naked  walls 
which  it  crowns. 

The  Capilla  del  Pulgar,  which  blocks  the  most  west- 
erly corner  of  the  south  elevation,  was  named  in  honor 
of  Hernan  Peres  del  Pulgar,  the  site  of  whose  brave 
exploit  it  marks.  In  1490,  during  the  last  siege  of 
Granada,  he  determined  on  a  deed  which  should  out- 
do all  feats  of  heroism  and  defiance  ever  performed 
by  Moslem  warriors.  At  dead  of  night,  some  authori- 
ties say  he  was  on  horseback,  others  that  he  swam  the 
subterranean  channel  of  the  Darro,  he  penetrated  to 
the  heart  of  the  enemy's  city  and  fastened  with  his 
dagger  to  the  door  of  their  principal  mosque  a  scroll 


256  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

bearing  the  words  "Ave  Maria."  Before  this  insult 
to  their  faith  had  been  discovered,  he  had  regained 
Ferdinand's  camp. 

A  double  superimposed  arcade  faces  the  southern 
side  of  the  sagrario:  the  lower  story  has  been  brutally 
closed  and  defaced  by  modern  additions,  almost  con- 
cealing its  original  carving.  The  upper  story,  how- 
ever, which  forms  a  balcony,  strongly  recalls  by  its 
fancifully  twisted  shafts,  elliptical  arches  and  Gothic 
traceried  balustrade,  similar  early  Renaissance  work 
at  Blois,  where  the  Gothic  and  early  Italian  work  were 
so  charmingly  blended. 

The  Royal  Chapel  is  entered  through  an  Italian 
Renaissance  doorway  of  good  general  design  and 
decoration,  but  the  Spanish  cornice  and  balustrade 
crowning  the  outer  walls  are  much  more  interesting 
in  details.  The  principal  member  consists  of  a  band 
of  crowned  and  encircled  F's  and  Y's,  the  initials  of 
the  Catholic  Kings.  It  is  broken  over  the  window  by 
three  gigantic  coats-of-arms.  To  the  left  is  Ferdi- 
nand's individual  device  of  a  yoke,  the  "yugo,"  with 
the  motto  "Tato  Mota"  (Tanto  Monta)  tantamount, 
assumed  as  a  mark  of  his  equality  with  the  Castilian 
Queen;  to  the  right  Isabella's  dcAdce  of  a  bundle  of  ar- 
rows or  "flechas,"  the  symbol  of  union.  In  the  centre 
is  the  common  royal  shield,  proudly  adopted  after  the 
union  of  the  various  kingdoms  of  the  Peninsula  had 
been  cemented.  The  Eagle  of  Saint  John  the  Evan- 
gelist and  the  common  crown  surmount  the  arms  of 
Castile  and  Leon,  of  Aragon,  Sicily,  Navarre,  and 
Jerusalem  and  the  pomegranate  of  Granada. 

The  various  roofs  of  the  Cathedral  are  covered  with 
endless  rows  of  tiles,  which  in  the  furrowed,  overlap- 


Photo  by  J.  Lacoste,  Madrid 

CATHEDRAL  OF  GRANADA 
The  reja  enclosing  the  Royal  Chapel  and  tombs  of  the  Catholic  Kings 


GRANADA  257 

ping  irregularity  of  their  surfaces  add  to  the  general 
play  of  light  and  shade.  Above  them  all  spreads 
the  umbrella-shaped  dome  which  crowns  the  Capilla 
Mayor. 

At  the  period  when  Gothic  church -building  was  dis- 
appearing, we  find  not  a  few  edifices  where  the  old 
and  new  styles  are  curiously  blended.  A  Renaissance 
facade  added  in  later  days  might  encase  a  practically 
complete  Gothic  interior.  In  Granada,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Royal  Chapel,  very  little  of  the  interior 
contained  traces  of  the  expiring  style.  In  the  Cathe- 
dral proper,  it  is  principally  foimd  in  a  groined  vault- 
ing of  the  different  bays,  which  is  covered  with  vary- 
ing and  most  elaborate  schemes  of  ornamental  Gothic 
ribs,  which  seem  strangely  incongruous  to  the  archi- 
tect as  he  looks  up  from  the  classical  shafts  in  the  ex- 
pectation of  finding  a  corresponding  form  of  building 
and  decoration  in  the  later  vaulting. 

The  general  plan  of  the  church  is  more  Renaissance 
than  Gothic,  exhibiting  rather  the  form  of  the  "Rund- 
bau"  than  the  "Langbau"  of  the  Latin  cross.  Its 
main  feature  is  likewise  the  great  dome  rising  above 
and  lighting  the  Capilla  Mayor.  The  Spanish  cimbo- 
rio  has  at  last  reached  its  fullest  development  in  the 
Renaissance   lantern. 

The  church  is  divided  into  nave  and  double  side 
aisles,  outside  of  which  is  a  series  of  externally  abut- 
ting chapels.  East  and  west  it  contains  six  bays.  The 
choir  blocks  up  the  fifth  and  sixth  bays  of  the  nave, 
and  in  the  customary  Spanish  manner  it  is  separated 
from  the  high  altar  in  the  Capilla  Mayor  by  the 
croisee  of  the  transept.  Back  of  this,  forming  the 
eastern  termination,  runs  an  ambulatory. 


258  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

The  vaulting,  one  hundred  feet  high,  is  carried  by  a 
series  of  gigantic  white  piers  consisting  of  four  semi- 
columns  of  Corinthian  order  with  their  intersecting 
angles  formed  by  a  triple  rectangular  break.  The  vault- 
ing springs  from  above  a  full  entablature  and  sur- 
mounting pedestals,  the  latter  running  to  the  height 
of  the  arches  dividing.the  various  vaulting  compart- 
ments. The  church  is  about  385  feet  long  and  220 
feet  wide. 

The  choir  is  uninteresting;  the  carving  of  its  stalls 
and  organs  in  nowise  comparing  with  the  "silleria" 
of  Seville  or  Burgos.  The  Capilla  Mayor,  the  princi- 
pal feature  of  the  interior,  is  circular  in  form,  and 
separated  from  the  nave  by  a  splendid  "  Arco  Toral." 
The  dome,  which  rises  to  a  height  of  155  feet,  is  car- 
ried by  eight  Corinthian  piers.  In  general  scheme  it  is 
pure  Italian  Renaissance,  of  noble  and  harmonious 
proportions  and  very  richly  decorated.  At  the  foot 
of  the  pilasters  stand  colossal  statues  of  the  Apostles. 
Higher  up  there  is  a  series  of  most  remarkable  paint- 
ings by  Alfonso  Cano  and  some  of  his  pupils.  Cano's 
represent  seven  incidents  in  the  life  of  the  Virgin, — 
the  Annunciation,  Visitation,  Nativity,  Assumption, 
etc.  Though  some  of  his  carvings,  and  especially  the 
dignified  and  noble  Virgin  in  the  sacristy,  are  ad- 
mirable, still,  to  judge  from  this  series,  it  was  as  a 
painter  that  he  excelled.  They  show,  too,  how  essen- 
tially Spanish  he  was,  like  his  great  master,  Montanez. 
The  careless,  lazy  quality  of  his  temperament  is  suffi- 
ciently apparent,  but  he  cannot  be  denied  a  place 
among  the  great  masters  of  Spanish  painting  who 
immediately  preceded  the  all-eclipsing  glory  of  Ve- 
lasquez, Murillo,and  Ribera. 


GRANADA  259 

The  lights  of  the  dome  which  rises  over  the  paint- 
ings are  filled  with  very  lovely  stained  glass,  repre- 
senting scenes  from  the  Passion  by  the  Dutchmen, 
Teodor  de  Holanda,  and  Juan  del  Campo.  On  the 
two  sides  of  the  choir  below  are  colossal  heads  of 
Adam  and  Eve  carved  by  Cano  and  kneeling  figures 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 

There  are  endless  chapels  outside  the  outer  aisles, 
but,  in  spite  of  some  good  bits  of  sculpture  and  paint- 
ing here  and  there,  one  longs  to  sweep  them  out  of 
the  way  and  free  the  edifice  from  their  encumbrance. 

The  interior  of  the  great  sagrario  is  an  expressionless 
jumble  of  the  later  Renaissance  decadence,  —  and  it 
is  a  shame  that  no  more  fitting  architecture  surrounds 
the  tomb  of  the  good  Talavera,  here  laid  to  rest  by 
his  friend  Tendilla,  the  first  Alcaide  of  the  Alhambra, 
with  the  inscription  over  his  tomb,  *' Amicus  Amico.'* 

The  general  color  scheme  in  the  interior  of  the  Ca- 
thedral is  white  and  gold.  One  feels  that  it  is  hand- 
some, even  harmonious  and  magnificent,  but  that  all 
the  mystery  and  religious  awe  that  pervaded  the  great 
churches  of  the  previous  centuries  have  vanished  for- 
ever. 

The  Royal  Chapel,  although  the  oldest  part  of  the 
building,  should  be  considered  last  of  all,  as  it  is  by 
far  the  most  interesting  portion  and  leaves  an  im- 
pression so  vivid  as  to  overshadow  all  other  parts  of 
the  great  edifice.  It  is  situated  between  the  sagrario 
and  the  Sacristia  and  is  entered  through  the  southern 
arm  of  the  transept.  The  chapel  itself  is  the  very  last 
Gothic  efflorescence  from  which  the  spirit  has  fled, 
leaving  only  empty  form.  It  consists  of  a  single  big 
nave  flanked  by  lower  chapels.    The  ornamentally 


260  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

ribbed  vaulting  with  gilt  bosses  and  keystones  is  car- 
ried by  clustered  shafts  engaged  in  its  side  walls. 
The  shafts  are  too  thin  and  the  capitals  too  meagre. 
A  broader  and  more  generous  string  course  runs,  at 
the  height  of  the  capitals,  across  the  wall  surfaces 
between  the  upper  clerestory  and  the  lower  arcades. 
Portions  of  this  reveal  a  strong  Moorish  influence,  as 
the  manner  in  which  the  great  Gothic  lettering  is  em- 
ployed to  decorate  the  band.  Similarly  to  the  invoca- 
tions to  Allah  running  round  the  walls  of  the  Alham- 
bra,  we  read  here  that  "This  chapel  was  founded  by 
the  most  Catholic  Don  Fernando  and  Dona  Isabel, 
King  and  Queen  of  the  Espanos,  of  Naples,  of  Sicily, 
and  Jerusalem,  who  conquered  this  kingdom  and 
brought  it  back  to  the  faith,  who  acquired  the  Canary 
Isles  and  Indies,  as  well  as  the  cities  of  lean,  Tripoli, 
and  Bugia;  who  crushed  heresy,  expelled  Moors  and 
Jews  from  these  realms,  and  reformed  religion.  The 
Queen  died  Tuesday,  November  26,  1504.  The  King 
died  January  25,  1516.  The  building  was  completed 
1517."  Enrique  de  Egas  had,  at  Ferdinand's  order, 
commenced  building  two  years  after  Isabella's  death. 
The  grandson  enlarged  it  later,  finding  it  "too  small 
for  so  much  glory.'* 

The  high  altar  with  its  retablo  and  the  royal  sarco- 
phagi are  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  chapel  by  the 
most  stupendous  and  magnificent  iron  screen  or  reja 
ever  executed.  Spaniards  have  here  surpassed  all 
their  earlier  productions  in  this  their  master  craft. 
Not  even  the  screens  of  the  great  choir  and  altar  of 
Seville  or  Toledo  can  compare  with  it.  With  the  pos- 
sible exception  of  the  curious  Biblical  scenes  naively 
represented  by  groups  of  figures  near  the  apex,  which 


GRANADA  261 

still  tell  their  story  in  true  Gothic  style,  it  is  a  burst 
of  Renaissance,  or  Plateresque  glory.  It  is  not  likely 
that  the  crafts,  with  all  their  mechanical  skill,  will  ever 
again  produce  a  work  of  such  artistic  perfection.  It 
represents  the  labor  of  an  army  of  skilled  artisans,  — 
all  the  sensitive  feeling  in  the  finger-tips  of  the  Italian 
goldsmith,  the  most  cunning  art  of  the  German  ar- 
morer and  a  combination  of  restraint  and  boldness 
in  the  Spanish  smith  and  forger.  The  diflSculty  natu- 
rally offered  by  the  material  has  also  restrained  the 
artisan's  hand  and  imagination  from  running  riot  in 
vulgar  elaboration.  The  design,  made  by  Maestro 
Bartolome  of  laen  in  1523,  is  as  excellent  as  the  tech- 
nique is  astonishing.  It  may  be  said  that  in  grandeur 
it  is  only  surpassed  by  the  fame  of  the  Queen  whose 
remains  lie  below.  The  material  is  principally  wrought 
iron,  though  some  of  the  ornaments  are  of  embossed 
silver  plate  and  portions  of  it  gilded  as  well  as  colored. 
Bartolome's  design  consists  in  general  of  three  super- 
imposed and  highly  decorated  rows  of  twisted  iron 
bars  with  molded  caps  and  bases.  Each  one  must  have 
been  a  most  massive  forging,  hammered  out  of  the 
solid  iron  while  it  was  red  hot.  The  vertically  aspir- 
ing lines  of  the  bars  are  broken  by  horizontal  rows  of 
foliage,  cherubs'  heads  and  ornamentation,  as  well 
as  two  broad  bands  of  cornices  with  exquisitely  deco- 
rated friezes.  Larger  pilasters  and  columns  form  its 
panels,  the  central  ones  of  which  constitute  the  door- 
way and  enclose  the  elaborate  arms  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  and  those  of  their  inherited  and  conquered 
kingdoms.  The  screen  is  crested  by  a  rich  border  of 
pictorial  scenes,  of  flambeaux  and  foliated  Renais- 
sance scrollwork,  above  which  in  the  centre  is  throned 


262  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

the  crucified  Saviour  adored  by  the  Virgin  and  Saint 
John.  The  crucifix  rises  to  the  height  of  the  very- 
capitals  which  carry  the  lofty  vaulting. 

Inside  the  reja,  a  few  steps  above  the  tombs,  rises 
Philip  Vigarny's,  or  Borgona's,  elaborate  reredos.  To 
the  Protestant  sense  this  is  gaudy  and  theatrical,  a 
strikingly  garish  note  in  the  solemnity  and  grandeur 
of  the  chapel.  To  the  right  and  left  of  its  base  are, 
however,  most  interesting  carvings,  among  them  the 
kneeling  statues  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  Behind 
the  former  is  his  victorious  banner  of  Castile.  The 
figures  are  vitally  interesting  as  contemporaneous 
portraits  of  the  monarchs,  aiming  to  reproduce  with 
fidelity  their  features  and  every  detail  of  their  dress. 
There  is  also  a  series  of  bas-reliefs  portraying  inci- 
dents in  the  siege  of  Granada,  —  the  Cardinal  on  a 
prancing  charger,  behind  him  a  forest  of  lances,  the 
lurid,  flaming  sky  throwing  out  in  sharp  silhouette  the 
pierced  walls  and  rent  battlements.  The  Moors,  very 
much  like  dogs  shrinking  from  a  beating,  are  being 
dragged  to  the  baptismal  font;  —  the  gesticulating 
prelates  hold  aloft  in  one  hand  the  cross  and  in  the 
other,  the  sword,  for  the  tunicked  figures  to  make 
their  choice.  The  scene  has  been  described  by  Sir  W. 
Stirling  Maxwell,  who  tells  us  "that  in  one  day  no 
less  than  three  thousand  persons  received  baptism 
at  the  hands  of  the  Primate,  who  sprinkled  them  with 
the  hyssop  of  collective  regeneration." 

Again,  in  another,  the  cringing  Boabdil  is  present- 
ing the  keys  of  the  city  to  the  "three  kings."  Isabella 
is  on  a  whitegenet,  and  Mendoza,  like  the  old  pictures 
of  Wolsey,  on  a  trapped  mule.  Ferdinand  is  there  in 
all  his  magnificence;  the  knights,  the  halberdiers  and 


GRANADA  263 

horsemen,  all  the  details  of  the  dramatic  moment,  full 
of  the  greatest  imaginable  historic  and  antiquarian 
interest,  perpetuated  by  one  who  was  probably  an 
eye-witness  of  the  scene. 

At  the  foot  of  the  altar,  in  the  centre  of  the  chapel, 
stand  the  tombs  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  and  of 
Philip  and  Joan.  They  are  as  gorgeous  specimens  of 
sepulchral  monuments  as  the  reja  is  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical iron  screen.  Both  sarcophagi  are  executed  in  the 
softest  flushed  alabaster;  that  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella by  the  Florentine  Dominico  Fancelli;  that  of 
their  daughter  and  her  son  by  the  Barcelonian  Bar- 
tolome  Ordenez,  "The  Eagle  of  Relief,"  who  carved 
his  blocks  at  Carrara.  The  tomb  of  poor  crazy  Jane, 
and  the  unworthy,  handsome  husband  whom  she 
doted  on  to  the  extent  of  carrying  his  body  with  her 
throughout  the  doleful  wronged  insanity  of  her  later 
years,  is  somewhat  more  elevated  than  that  of  the 
Catholic  Kings,  though  its  general  design  is  very  sim- 
ilar. Philip  of  Austria  sleeps  vested  with  the  Order 
of  the  Golden  Fleece. 

Isabella's  celebrated  will  begins  with  her  desire  that 
her  body  may  be  taken  to  Granada  and  there  laid  to 
rest  in  the  Franciscan  monastery  of  Santa  Isabella  in 
the  Alhambra,  with  a  simple  tomb  and  inscription: 
"  but  should  the  King,  my  lord,  prefer  a  sepulchre  in 
some  other  place,  then  my  will  is  that  my  body  be 
there  transported,  and  laid  where  he  can  be  placed  by 
my  side,  that  the  union  we  have  enjoyed  in  this  world, 
and  which  through  the  mercy  of  God  may  be  hoped  for 
again  when  our  souls  are  in  heaven,  may  be  symbol- 
ized by  our  bodies  being  side  by  side  on  earth."  The 
humble  burying-ground  designated  by  Isabella,  and 


264  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

where  she  was  first  laid  to  rest  with  the  simple  rites 
she  desired,  was,  however,  no  fitting  place  for  the 
grandparents  of  Imperial  Charles.  Here,  in  the  Ca- 
thedral's principal  chapel,  he  had  them  laid  in  the 
year  1525. 

The  sarcophagus  consists  of  three  stages,  contain- 
ing the  ornamental  motives  so  characteristic  of  the 
best  sculpture  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  No  other 
form  of  statuary  brought  out  their  skill  and  genius  so 
fully  as  a  sepulchral  monument.  Medallions,  statues, 
niches,  saints,  angels,  griffins  and  garlands  are  all 
woven  into  a  magnificent  base  to  receive  the  recum- 
bent effigies.  Apostles  and  bas-reliefs  of  scenes  from 
the  life  of  Christ  surround  the  base,  while  winged 
griffins  break  the  angles.  Above  are  the  four  Doctors 
of  the  Church,  the  arms  of  the  Catholic  Kings  and 
the  proud  and  simple  epitaph,  "Mahomet ice  secte 
prostratores  et  heretice  pervicacie  extinctores:  Fer- 
nandus  Aragonium  et  Helisabetha  Castelle,  viretuxor 
unanimes,  catholici  appelati,  marmoreo  clauduntur 
tumulo."^  In  tranquil  crowned  dignity  above  lie 
Ferdinand  in  his  mantle  of  knighthood,  his  sword 
clasped  over  his  armored  breast,  and  Isabella  with 
the  cross  of  her  country's  patron  saint.  The  recum- 
bent figures  are  extremely  fine;  the  faces,  which  are 
portraits,  convey  all  we  know  of  their  prototypes' 
characteristics.  Ferdinand's  proud,  pursed  lips  whis- 
per his  selfish  arrogance,  his  iron  will,  and  the  great- 
ness and  fulfillment  of  his  dreams.  The  hard,  master- 
ful jaw  confirms  the  character  given  him  by  the  shrewd 
French  cynic  as  one  of  the  most  thorough  egotists 
who  ever  sat  on  a  throne,  as  well  as  that  of  his  Eng- 

'  Hare's  Qjieen  of  Queens. 


GRANADA  265 

lish  son-in-law,  who  knew  enough  to  call  him  "the 
wisest  king  that  ever  ruled  Spain." 

Beside  Ferdinand  sleeps  his  lion-hearted  consort. 
It  is  her  lofty  soul  which  broods  over  the  sepulchre 
and  heightens  the  feeling  of  reverence  already  in- 
spired by  reja  and  sarcophagus.  She  is  still  the 
brightest  star  that  ever  rose  in  the  Spanish  firmament 
and  shone  in  clear  radiance  above  even  the  lights  of 
Ximenes,  of  Columbus,  or  the  Great  Captain.  Her 
smile  is  now  as  cold  and  her  look  as  placid  as  moon- 
light sleeping  on  snow. 

Noble,  tender-hearted  and  true,  dauntless,  self- 
sacrificing  and  faithful,  she  rose  supreme  in  every  re- 
lation of  life  and  the  great  crisis  of  her  people's  his- 
tory. "In  all  her  revelations  of  Queen  or  Woman," 
said  Lord  Bacon,  "she  was  an  honour  to  her  sex,  and 
the  corner  stone  of  the  greatness  of  Spain." 

Standing  before  her  tomb,  on  the  battlefield  bf  her 
victorious  armies,  the  clear  perspective  and  calm 
judgment  of  four  centuries  still  declare  her  "of  rare 
qualities,  —  sweet  gentleness,  meekness,  saint-like, 
wife-like  government,  the  Queen  of  earthly  queens." 


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Gothic  Architecture. 
Norton,  Charles  Eliot.    Church-building  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
Orcajo,  Don  Pedro.    Historia  de  la  Catedral  de  Burgos. 
Peyron,  Jean  Francois.     Essays  on  Spain. 
Prescott,  W.  H.    Ferdinand  and  Isabella. 


268  THE  CATHEDRALS  OF  SPAIN 

QuADRADO,  D.  Jose  Ma.    Espana,  siis  Monumentos  y  Artes  — 

su  Naturaleza  e  Historia. 
Rudy,  Charles.     The  Cathedrals  of  Northern  Spain. 
Rose,  H.  J.     Among  the  Spanish  People. 
RossEEUw  de  St.  Hilaire,  E.  F.  A.    Histoire  d'Espagne. 
St.  Reynald.  La  Nouvelle  Revue,  1881,  "L'Espagne  Musul- 

mane." 
Schmidt,  K.  E.    SeviUa. 
Smith.    Architecture  of  Spain. 
Street,  G.  E.    Gothic  Architecture  in  Spain. 
Wort,  Talbot  D.    Brochure  Series  of  Arch.  Illustration,  1903 

(vol.  9). 
Wyatt,   Sir  Mathew  Digby.    An  Architects  Note-book  in 

Spain. 
(Official  Publication).    Los  Monumentos  Arquitectonicos  de 

Espana. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Aabok,  54. 

Abel,  110. 

Abu  Jakab  Jnsuf ,  203,  231. 

Abraham,  153. 

Acropolis,  240. 

Acnna,  Bishop  of,  48,  49,  62. 

Adaja,  67. 

Adam,  227,  259. 

Adriatic,  201. 

Africa,  194. 

Agnero,  Campo,  184. 

Alava,  Juan  de,  22,  177,  207. 

Alcides,  193. 

Alcaide,  127,  259. 

Alcantara,  Bridge  of,  123. 

Alcantara,  Order  of,  128. 

Alcazar  of  Avila,  84, 

Alcazar  of  Segovia,  169,  171,  172, 173. 

Alcazar  of  Seville,  209,  230. 

Alcazar  of  Toledo,  123. 

Alcazerias,  Toledo,  129. 

Aleman,  Christobal,  228. 

Alfaqui  Abu  Walid,  154. 

Alfonso,  architect  of  Toledo,  135,  141. 

Alfonso  I,  68,  127,  243. 

Alfonso  ni,  37. 

Alfonso  IV,  129,  130,  156. 

Alfonso  VI,  5,  7,  37,  61,  68,  69, 91,  96, 

127,  220. 
Alfonso  Vn,  155. 
Alfonso  VIII,  73,  154. 
Alfonso  IX,  5,  6,  74,  96. 
Alfonso  X,  The  Wise,  47,  70,  97,  169, 

219,  225,  231. 
Alfonso  XI,  36,  155, 171. 
Alfonso,  King,  34. 
Alfonso  de  Cartagena,  Bishop,  49,  62, 

62. 
Alfonsinas,  Tablas,  219. 
Alhambra,  240,  241,  244,  259,  260,  263. 
Alleman,  Jorge  Fernandez,  207. 
Almanzor,  95. 
Almeria,  194. 
Almohaden,  203,  243. 


Almorvides,  243. 

Alpujarras,  241. 

Alvarez  of  Toledo,  Juan,  44. 

Alvaro,  Maestro,  23. 

Amiens,  Cathedral  of,  25, 43,  93, 94, 124, 

131, 163,  201. 
Andalusia,  122,  191,  192, 194,  201. 
Andino,  Cristobal,  51. 
Angelo,  Michael,  153,  251. 
Angers,  Bishop  of,  20. 
Angevine  School,  40. 
Anna,  Sta.,  41,  48. 
Antonio,  St.,  222. 
Apostles,  144,  229. 
Aquitaine,  7,  10,  15. 
Aragon,  Kin^  of,  48,  127. 
Aragon,  Province  of,  19,  122, 143,  207, 

256. 
Arge,  Juan  de,  107. 
Amao  de  Flanders,  229. 
Astorga,  20. 
Asterio,  Bishop  of,  61. 
Asturias,  34,  69,  70,  94,  95. 
Augustus,  Emperor,  94. 
Avila,  Cathedral  of,  65-87. 
A3rmar,  70. 

Ayuntamiento,  Toledo,  129. 
Azeu,  Bernard  of,  91. 

Bacon,  Lord,  265. 

Badajoz,  Juan,  22,  97. 

Bagdad,  127. 

Baetica,  Provincia,  193. 

Baetis,  193,  215. 

Baldwin,  Maestro,  107. 

Banderas,  Seville,  Patio  de  las,  201. 

Bandinelli,  Baccio,  153. 

Barcelona,  228. 

Bartolom^  of  Jaen,  261. 

Basle,  Council  of,  49,  62. 

Baudelaire,  214. 

Bautizo,  Seville,  door  of,  208. 

Beatrice  of  Suabia,  53,  223. 

Beanvais,  Cathedral  of,  93. 


272 


INDEX 


Belgium,  162. 

Bellini,  Gioyanni,  162. 

Bellver,  Riccardo,  208. 

Benavente,  Cathedral  of,  142. 

Benedict,  St.,  6. 

Benedictines,  37,  220. 

Benilo,  70. 

Berenznela,  Qaeen,  92. 

Bermudez,  Cean,  44,  45,  69,  134,  199. 

Bernard,  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  7,  130, 

154,  156. 
BerroqueHa,  138,  141. 
Berrnguete,  Alfonso,  79,  134,  151,  153, 

250. 
Berrnguete,  Pedro,  79. 
Blanche  of  France,  47. 
Bias,  Gil,  169,  252. 
Blasquez  Dean  Blasco,  74. 
Blois,  256. 
BoabdU,  243,  262. 
Boldan,  227. 

Bologna,  Univeraity  of,  6. 
Bordeaux,  93. 
BorgoSia,  224. 
Borgofia,  Juan  de,  79,  134. 
BorgoiSa,  PhiUp,  151,  152,  177,  262. 
Boston,  18. 

Bourges,  Cathedral  of,  94, 134. 
Brizuela,  Pedro,  187. 
Bruges,  Carlos  de,  229. 
Brunelleschi,  176. 
Brussels,  247. 
Bugia,  260. 
Bui^os,  Cathedral  of,  30-63,  80,  81,  86, 

93,  97,  101,  105,  106,  111,  131,  132. 

134,  141,  177,  183, 199,  207,  224,  258. 
Burgos,  Bishopric  of,  122. 
Burgundy,  School  of,  10, 13. 
Bume-Jones,  60. 

Cadiz,  194. 
Caesar,  Julias,  193. 
Calderon,  6. 
Caliphs,  4. 
Calix,  157. 

Calatrava,  Order  of,  128. 
Calixtus  m,  Pope,  8. 
Campafia,  Pedro,  195. 
Campero,  Juan,  22. 
Csmpo,  Juan  del,  259. 


Canary  Isles,  260. 

Cano,  Alfonso,  195,  227,  248,  258,  259. 

Cantabria,  70. 

Capulet,  138. 

Capitan,  Calle  del  Gran,  201. 

Carlos  de  Bruges,  229. 

Carmona,  82. 

Carpentania,  124. 

Casanova,  208. 

Castanela,  Juan  de,  44, 45. 

Castile,  Province  of,  6,  19,  30,  33,  34, 

68,  72,  74,  92, 95,  122,  127,  135,  136, 

143,  159,  171,  172,  178,  207,  215,  219, 

243,  244,  256,  264, 
Catalina,  Toledo,  Puerta  de  Sta.,  145. 
Catarina,  Burgos,  Chapel  of,  41,  60. 
Catharine  Plantagenet,  Queen,  159. 
CathoUc  Kings,  20,  128,  143,  172,  217, 

242,  256. 
Caveda,  199,  200. 
Cebrian,  Pedro,  97. 
Celandra,  Enrique  Bernardino  de,  229. 
Cellini,  152. 
Cervantes,  196. 

Cespedes,  Domingo  de,  134,  150. 
Ceuta,  192. 
Chambord,  210. 
Champagne,  99. 
Charles  V,   Emperor,  45,  46,  71,  137, 

153,   171,    172,  173,  225,   251,  254, 

263. 
Charles,  Prince  of  England,  169,  245. 
Chartres,  Cathedral  of,  40,  93,  94, 102, 

109,  141,  201. 
Chartudi,  Martin  Ruiz  de,  179. 
Chico,  Patio,  18,  24,  25. 
Christopher,  St.,  162. 
Chronicles,  192. 
Chnrriguera,  28. 

Cid,  Campeador,  33,  123, 127,  134,  200. 
Cisneros,  Cardinal,  80. 
Cistercians,  40. 
Citeaux,  130. 
Clamores,  167. 

Clara,  Sta.,  172,  173, 177, 185. 
Clement,  St.,  102. 
Cluny,  5,  7,  10,  130,  131,  220. 
Cologne,  138,  211. 
Colonia,  Diego  de,  49. 
Colonia,  Francisco  de,  57,  60. 


INDEX 


273 


Colonia,  Juan  de,  49,  60,  62, 101. 
Colonia,  Simon  de,  49. 
Columbina  Library,  209,  215. 
Columbus,  197,  204,  215,  216,  227,  244, 

265. 
Compero,  Juan  de,  178. 
Compostella,  St.  James  of,  157. 
Compostella,  Cathedral  of,  96. 
Comuneros,  71. 
Comunidades,  127,  173,  182. 
Constable,  Burgos,  Chapel  of,  41, 49, 57, 

58. 
Constance,  Queen,  130,  164,  156,  220. 
Constantine,  285. 
Constantinople,  219. 
Copin,  134. 
Cordova,  Caliphate  of,  5,  194,  195,  203, 

204,  230,  231,  242,  243,  247. 
Cornelia,  83. 

Coroneria,  Burgos,  Puerta  de  la,  47, 56. 
Corpus  Christi,  Burgos,  Chapel  of,  41. 
Corpus  Domini,  Feast  of,  219. 
Cortes,  36,  125. 
Cortez,  197. 

Council  of  the  Indies,  197. 
CouncUs,  126,  157. 
Covarrubias,  Alfonso,  22,  134,  177. 
Cristela,  St.,  86. 

Cristobal,  Seville,  Gate  of  St.,  209. 
Cruz,  Granada,  Hospital  of  Sta.,  247. 
Cruz,  Valladolid,  Colegio  de,  247. 
Cruz,  Santos,  79. 

Cubillas,  Garcia  de,  174, 177,  179. 
Cuevas,  Monastery  of  Las,  227. 

Dado,  Chapel  of  Nuestra  Se&ora  del, 

114. 
Damascns,  2. 
Dancart,  218. 
Daniel,  112. 
Darro,  240,  255. 
David,  3,  48,  112,  158,  254. 
Davila,  Bishop  Blasquez,  74. 
Davila,  Juan  Arias,  171,  177, 184 
Davila,  Sancho,  82. 
Denis,  Abbey  of  St.,  40. 
Dominican,  128,  218. 
Dominic,  St.,  6. 
Donatello,  152. 
Doncelles,  Seville,  Capilla  de  los,  229. 


DuefSas,  Convent  of  Las,  30. 
Duke,  Iron,  245. 
Durham,  123. 
Dumas,  Alexandre,  241. 

Eden,  Garden  of,  241. 

Edward  I,  33. 

Egas,  Annequin  de,  135. 

Egas,  Anton  de,  21,  22, 134. 

Egas,  Enrique  de,  136,  177,  207,  224, 

247,  248,  249,  260. 
Egypt,  209. 
Eleanor  of  Castile,  33. 
Eleanor  Plantagenet,  37. 
Ellis,  Havelock,  214. 
Ely,  Cathedral  of,  148. 
England,  33,  124,  149. 
Enrique,  Architect,  54,  60,  97. 
Enrique  II,  70. 
Enriquez,  Beatrix,  216. 
Erasma,  167. 
Eslava,  214. 

Esteban,  Burgos,  Church  of  San,  34. 
Esteban,  Salamanca,  Church  of  San,  30, 

44. 
Eatrella,  72. 
Eugenio  IV,  74. 
Eugenio,  St.,  141. 
Europe,  162,  194,  215. 
Eve,  227,  259. 
Exodus,  153. 
Ezekiel,  192. 

Fancelli,  Dominico,  263. 

Fanez,  Alvar,  123. 

Ferdinand  I,  34,  95. 

Ferdinand  HI,  St.,  37,  18,  53, 61, 70, 92, 

131,  193,  195,  203,  209,  219,  224,  225, 

231,  232,  249. 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  20,  49,  82,  127, 

128,  136, 137, 152,  244,  251,  256,  259, 

260,  261,  262,  263,  264,  265. 
Ferdinand,  Infante,  47. 
Ferguson,  206. 
Fernandez,  Alejo,  195. 
Fernandez,  Marco  Jorge,  218. 
Fernandez,  Martin,  60. 
Flanders,  183. 
Florence,  70,  196,  223,  230. 
Fonfria,  167. 


274 


INDEX 


Fonseca,  Bishop  Don  Joan  Rodriguez 

de,  56,  136. 
France,  28, 44, 47,  69, 72, 92, 94, 109, 123, 

132,  133,  149,  153,  162,  183,  200,  207. 
Francesco  de  Salamanca,  218. 
Francis,  St.,  137. 
Franciscan  Monastery,  263. 
Frederic  of  Germany,  92. 
Friola,  St.,  114,  167. 
Front  of  P^rigueux,  St.,  15. 
Frumonio,  Bishop,  95. 
Frutos,  St.,  174. 

GaUichan's  Story  of  Seville,  197,  199. 

Gallo,  Torre  del,  15. 

Ganza,  Martin,  225. 

Garcia,  Alvar,  72. 

Garcia,  Pedro,  207. 

Gautier,  Th^ophile,  46,  122,  151,  199. 

Gayangoz,  231. 

GeneralifPe,  241. 

Germany,  93,  162,  183. 

Gever,  231. 

Ghiberti,  48,  152. 

Gibbon,  Grinling,  27. 

Gil  de  Hontaflon,  Juan,  22,  23,  28,  174, 

175, 176,  177,  179,  207. 
Gil  de  Hontaflon,  Rodrigo,  23,  179,  184. 
Giralda,  201,  209,  229,  230,  232,  234, 

235. 
Giraldo,  Luis,  83. 
Goethe,  239. 
Goliath,  3. 

Gomez,  Alvar,  136,  141. 
Gonzales,  Bishop,  97. 
Gonzales,  Ferdinand,  33,  34. 
Gonzalo,  Don,  53. 
Gorda,  142. 

Goya,  162,  201,  226,  227. 
Granada,  Cathedral  of,  182,  216,  224, 

237-265. 
Granada,    Province  of,   122,  138,   152, 

194,  195,  2.30. 
Granados,  Jos^,  248. 
Gray,  Thomas,  167. 
Greco,  El,  162,  227. 
Gredos,  Sierra,  67,  121. 
Greece,  153, 197,  223. 
Gregory  the  Great,  126. 
Gregory  VII,  91,  220. 


Guadalquivir,  197,  235. 
Guadarrama,  Sierra  de,  34,  67. 
Quarda,  Angel  de  la,  222,  223. 
Guaz,  Juan,  135. 
Guzman,  226. 

Hagenbach,  Peter,  221. 

Hannibal,  5,  243. 

Hapsburg,  217. 

Hare,  264. 

Havana,  227. 

Hell,  Toledo,  Gate  of,  143. 

Henry  of  Aragon,  159. 

Henry  II,  53,  155,  160,  178. 

Henry  III,  155. 

Henry  IV,  172. 

Henry  VII,  244. 

Henry  VIH,  61,  164 

Hercules,  192,  193. 

Hermanidad,  Dependencias  de  la,  210. 

Hernando,  244. 

Herrera,  195,  227. 

Hispalis,  194. 

Hispania,  Citerior,  68. 

Hispaniola,  227. 

Holanda,  Teodor  de,  259. 

Holando,  Alberto,  80. 

Holy  Office,  196,  243. 

Houssaye,  La,  151. 

Howell,  James,  245. 

Hoz,  Juan  de,  207. 

Huelva,  194. 

lago,  Burgos,  Chapel  of  St.,  60. 

Iberian  Peninsula,  1.36. 

Udefonso,  St.,  108,127, 143, 147, 157, 158. 

Ildefonso,  Toledo,  Chapel  of  St.,  157. 

Indies,  128,260. 

Innocent  III,  20,  92,  93. 

Inquisition,  128,  243,  244. 

Irving,  Washing^n,  160,  244. 

Isaac,  153. 

Isabella,  20,  62,  82,  127,  128,  131,  136, 
137,  138,  152,  154, 195,  224,  244,  256, 
259,  260,  261,  262,  263,  264. 

Isabella,  Granada,  Monastery  of  Sta., 
263. 

Isabella  of  Portugal,  160. 

Isaiah,  48,  106,  192. 

Isidore,  126,  220,  221. 


INDEX 


275 


r 


Islam,  202,  227,  247. 
Isle-de-France,  99,  102. 
Italy,  72,  93, 153, 196,  200,  223,  254. 
Ixbella,  194. 

Jacob,  153. 

Jaen,  194,  195,  208,  260. 

Jain  Temples,  205. 

James  I,  136. 

James,  St.,  54. 

James,  Professor,  87. 

Janera,  Cathedral  of,  153. 

Jeremiah,  112. 

Jeronimo,  Granada,  Puerta  de,  254. 

Jerusalem,  29,  214,  229,  256. 

Jesse,  Tree  of,  162. 

John,  St.,  55,  57,  208,  219,  256,  262. 

John  the  Baptist,  Toledo,  Hospital  of 

St.,  153. 
John  I,  155. 
John  II,  159. 
Jonah,  192. 
Joshua,  112. 
Juan,  Don,  134. 
Juan,  Bishop  of  Sabina,  171. 
Juan,  Toledo,  chapel  of  St.,  161. 
Juan,  Seville,  door  of  St.,  208. 
Juana,  Queen,  21,  225,  263. 
Judgment,  Last,  126. 
Junta,  Santa,  71. 
Justa,  Sta.,  226,  232. 
Jusquin,  Maestro,  101,  110. 

Kamattah,  242. 
Kempeneer,  222. 
Koran,  234. 

Lagarto,  Seville,  door  of,  209. 
Lamperez  y  Romea,  Seflor  D.,  9,  40,  76, 

108. 
Lara,  Bishop  Manrique,  96. 
Latin,  126,  187,  193,  232. 
Lazarus,  229. 
Leander,  220. 
Leocadia,  Sta.,  157,  158. 
Leon,  Cathedral  of,  26,  36,  39,  43,  80, 

81,  82,  86,  90,  117,  132, 134, 142, 177, 

198,  199,  212,  256. 
Leon,  Kingdom  of,  5,  6,  19,  30,  34,  69, 

127,  215. 


Lerida,  Cathedral  of,  133. 

Lerma,  Bishop  Gonzalvo  da,  52. 

Lions,  Toledo,  gate  of,  144,  161. 

Liana,  Toledo,  gate  of,  145. 

Lockhart,  245. 

Loevgild,  94,  126. 

Loja,  241. 

Lombardy,  201,  206,  243,  251. 

London,  204,  244. 

Lonja,  Seville,  gate  of,  209. 

Lopez,  Pedro,  207. 

Lorenzana,  136. 

Louis,  St.,  47,  92. 

Lucas  of  Holland,  152. 

Luis,  Fray,  6. 

Luna,  Count  Alvaro  de,  159. 

Luther,  86. 

Lusitania,  5. 

Madrid,  96, 128,  173,  206. 
Madrigal,  Tostada  de,  79. 
Maeda,  Juan  de,  248,  253,  254. 
Magi,  adoration  of  the,  104. 
Malaga,  248. 
Mancha,  La,  93. 
Manrico  de  Lara,  Francisco,  23. 
Mans,  Cathedral  of  Le,  148. 
Mantanzas,  D.  Juan  Ruiz,  156. 
Maria,  Burgos,  gate  of  Sta.,  60. 
Maria,  de  la  Incamacion,  Sta.,  Granada, 

246. 
Maria,  Burgos,  Sta.   Maria  la  Mayor, 

34,  57,  60. 
Maria,  Leon,  Sta.,  92,  96,  98,  116. 
Maria  del  Fiore,  Sta.,  17,  176,  201. 
Maria,  de  la  0.,  Sta.,  246. 
Maria  de  la  Sede,  Seville,  Sta.,  203,  207, 

213,  214,  219,  228,  230. 
Mary,  Virgin,  104,  130,  157,  158,  167, 

171,  173,  174,  179,  195,  217, 219,  220, 

227,  258,  262. 
Mary  Magdalen,  229. 
Marin,  Juan,  223. 
Marin,  Lope,  209. 
Marks,  St.,  12,  15,  230. 
Marraont,  30. 
Martial,  193. 
Martin,  214. 

Maurice,  Bishop,  37,  46,  49,  54,  61. 
Maxwell,  Sir  W.  Stirling,  262. 


276 


INDEX 


Medina,  Pedro  de,  97. 

Mediterranean,  122,  193. 

Meister  Wilhelm,  239. 

Mellan,  Pedro,  207,  208. 

Menardo,  Vicente,  229. 

Mendoza,  Dofia  Mencia  de,  60. 

Mendoza,  136,  138,  143,  155,  226,  262. 

Merida,  68. 

Mesquita,  231. 

Mexico,  197. 

Micer,  228. 

Michael,  St.,  86. 

Mignel,  Florentine,  196,  207,  223. 

Miguel,  San,  172, 173,  185. 

Miguel,  Seville,  Door  of  St.,  208. 

Milan,  Cathedral  of,  138,  204,  206. 

Milo,  VenuB  of,  212. 

Miserere,  214. 

Mohamed,  244. 

Molina,  Juan  Sanchez  de,  60. 

MontagTies,  138. 

Montafiez,  217,  227,  249,  258. 

Moses,  54,  112,  254. 

Mugaguren,  Juan  de,  179,  186. 

Mnnoz,  Sancho,  217. 

MuriUo,  196,  222,  227,  258. 

Nacimiento,  Seville,  doors  of,  207. 

Nacimiento,  Salamanca,  door  of,  25. 

Nantes,  93. 

Naples,  191,  260. 

Napoleon,  135. 

Naranjos,  Seville,  door  of  the,  209. 

Narbonne,  93,  157. 

Nasrides,  243. 

Navarre,  72,  92,  256. 

Navas  de  Tolosa,  Las,  70, 93,  154. 

Netherlands,  196. 

Nevada,  Sierra,  241,  242. 

Ney,  30. 

Nicholas,  Church  of,  Burgos,  34. 

Nicholas  Florentine,  14. 

Nile,  209. 

Norman,  Juan  de,  207. 

Odysseus,  192. 
Oliquelas,  139. 
Ontoria,  42. 
Orazco,  Juan  de,  22. 
Ordoiiez,  Bartolom^,  263. 


OrdoHo,  King,  95,  113,  114. 
Ouen  of  Rouen,  Cathedral  of  St.,  28. 
Oviedo,  34,  196,  198. 
Oxford,  University  of,  6. 

PadeUa,  127, 225. 

Palazzo  del  Gobemo  Civil,  Salamanca, 

28. 
Pardon,  Burgos,  Door  of,  61. 
Pardon,  Granada,  Door  of,  254. 
Pardon,  Segovia,  Door  of,  185. 
Pardon,  Seville,  Door  of,  209. 
Pardon,  Toledo,  Door  of,  126,  143. 
Paris,  219. 

Paris,  University  of,  6. 
Paris,  Cathedral  of,  25,  101,  105,  148, 

163,  199. 
Parthenon,  212. 
Pater,  Walter,  125. 
Paul,  St.,  30,  54,  62,  85, 142,  209,  164. 
Paul's,  London,  St.,  204,  244. 
Pedro,  Avila,  Church  of  St.,  71. 
Pedro,  Bishop  of  Avila,  Don,  72. 
Pedro  de  Ag^ilar,  155. 
Pedro  el  Cruel,  127,  225. 
Pedro  of  Castile,  Don,  70. 
Pedro,  Infante,  Don,  178. 
Pellejeria,  Burgos,  Door  of,  56,  58. 
Peninsular  War,  246. 
Perez,  1.35. 
Perez,  Juan,  60. 
Perez  de  "Vargas,  Garcia,  193. 
Perigueux,  7. 
Peru,  197. 

Pesquera,  Diego  de,  223 
Peter,  St.,  30, 54,  62,  85,  142,  209,  164. 
Peter's,  Rome,  St.,  205,  224,  251. 
Philip,  48. 

Philip  I  (of  Austria),  263. 
Philip  II,  23,  45,  128,  196,  197, 206. 
Philip  m,  245. 
Philip  of   Burgundy,  Sculptor,  44,  45, 

48. 
Philip,  St.,  54. 
Phoenicia,  197. 
Phoenicians,  193. 
Piazzetta,  Venice,  201. 
Pilayo,  Bishop  of  Oviedo,  Don,  69. 
Pintuega,  Florin  de,  69. 
Pius  II,  160. 


INDEX 


277 


Pius  in,  23. 

Pistoja,  230. 

Pizarro,  197. 

Plaza  del  Goleg^o  Yiejo,  Salamanca,  5. 

Pliny,  128. 

Plutarch,  125. 

Poe,  214. 

Poitou,  137. 

Porcello,  Diego,  60. 

Poniente,  28. 

Portugal,  127. 

Prado,  221. 

Presentacion,  Bai^os,  Chapel  of,  41, 52. 

Presentacion,  Toledo,  Puerta  de  la,  145. 

Psalms,  192. 

Ptolemy,  215. 

Pulgar,  Capilla  del,  255. 

Pulgar,  Herman  Perez  del,  265. 

Pyrenees,  93,  176,  206. 

Puy,  Notre  Dame  de,  144. 

Quadrado,  178. 
Quixote,  134. 

Bamos,  Alfonso,  101. 

Eamos,  door  of,  25,  29. 

Raphael,  Angel,  155. 

Raymond,  Count  of  Burgundy,  7,  8,  69, 

70,  72, 170. 
Real,  SeviUe,  Capilla,  205,  224. 
Reccared,  126. 
Reloi,  Toledo,  gate  of,  145. 
Rembrandt,  214. 
Reos,  D.  Demetrio  de  los,  96. 
Repiso,  Virgin  del,  223. 
Reyos  Nuevos,  Toledo,  chapel  of,  161. 
Rez,  Juan,  83. 
Rheims,  Cathedral  of,  25,  39, 43,  93,  94, 

148. 
Ribera,  162,  221,  258. 
Richard,  papal  legate,  156. 
Richelieu,  136. 
Ridriguez,  Canon  Juan,  174. 
Rodan,  Guillen  de,  97. 
Roderick,  King,  126. 
Rodrigo,  architect  of  Toledo,  136. 
Rodrigo,  Archbishop,  93. 
Rodrigo  de  Ferrara,  107. 
Rodriguez,  Archbishop  of  Seville,  205. 
Rodriguez,  Bishop,  136. 


Rodriguez  of  Alava,  Count  Diego,  34. 

Rodriguez,  Maestro  of  Seville,  22, 207. 

Rodriguez,  Sculptor,  151. 

RoeLis,  227. 

Rojas,  Qonsalo  de,  205,  207. 

Romano,  Casandro,  69. 

Rome,  5,  93,   116,  130,  135,  142,  143, 

191, 193,  197,  224. 
Roundheads,  61. 
Rovera,  D.  Diego  de,  174. 
Royal  Chapel,  Granada,  247,  249,  251, 

255,  256,  257,  259. 
Rubens,  162. 
Rufina,  Sta.,  226,  282. 
Ruiz,  Alfonso,  207. 
Ruiz,  Bishop  Francisco,  80. 
Ruiz,  Francisco,  234. 

Sabina,  St.,  86. 
Sachetti,  26. 
Salamanca,  city  of,  69. 
Salamanca,  council  of,  45. 
Salamanca,  Cathedral  of,  3-30, 44, 163, 

170,  174, 176, 176,  177,  179, 184, 198, 

213,  248. 
Salamantica,  5. 
Salisbury,  Cathedral  of,  131. 
Salto,  Maria  del,  178,  179. 
Salvador,  Avila,  Cathedral  of  San,  67, 

71. 
Sancha,  Countess,  114. 
Sanches  de  Castro,  Juan,  201. 
Sanchez,  Martin,  135. 
Sanchez,  Nufro,  216. 
Sanchez,  Bishop  Pedro,  69. 
Sanchez,  Architect  Pedro,  53,  60. 
Sancho  the  Brave,  155. 
Sancho  the  Deserted,  155. 
Santander,  Diego  de,  53. 
Santiago,  bishopric  of,  122. 
Santiago,  Burgos,  chapel  of,  41. 
Santiago,  Leon,  chapel  of,  99,  107,  115. 
Santiago,  order  of,  128,  135,  159. 
Santiago,  Toledo,  chapel  of,  147,  157, 

159. 
Santo,  Andrea  del,  163. 
Sarabia,  Rodrigo  de,  22. 
Sarmental,  Puerta  del,  54. 
Sarmentos,  family  of,  54. 
Scriveners,  Toledo,  gate  of,  143. 


278 


INDEX 


Segovia,  city  of,  67,  69. 

Segovia,  Cathedral  of,  165-187,  213. 

Segundo,  St.,  86. 

Segundo,  Avila,  church  of  San,  71. 

Sens,  Cathedral  of,  40 

Seville,  Cathedral  of,  24,  44,  96,  97, 138, 

158,  182, 183,  189-236,  242,  248,258, 

260. 
Seville,  bishopric  of,  122. 
Sicily,  kingdom  of,  19,  143,  256,  260. 
Siena,  70. 

Sierra  Alhama,  241. 
Sierra  Gredos,  67,  122. 
Sierra  de  Guadarrama,  34,  67. 
Sierra  MoreHa,  198,  235. 
Sierra  Nevada,  241,  242. 
Silho^,  Diego   de,  49,  248,  249,  252, 

254. 
Silva,  Diego  da,  195. 
Simon,  architect,  97. 
Sistine  Madonna,  212. 
Sofia,  St.,  12. 
Stevenson,  B.  L.,  145. 
Suabia,  53,  225. 

Tagus,  93,  122. 

Talavera,  246,  259. 

Tarragon,  bishopric  of,  122. 

Tarragona,  Cathedral  of,  133. 

Tarshish,  192. 

Tavera,  136,  141. 

Tecla,  Sta.,  41. 

Tendaia,  259. 

Tenorio,  136,  141,  163. 

Teresa,  Sta.,  86,  87. 

Theotocopuli,  Jorge  Manael,  140. 

Thiebant,  30. 

Thomas,  convent  of  St.,  71. 

Tierra  de  Maria  Santissima,  198. 

Titian,  162. 

Toledo,  Cathedral  of,  36,  39,  42,  93,  96, 
106,  108,  121-164,  170,  177,  182,  192, 
198,  204,  207,  212, 216,  218,  223,  247, 
260. 

Toledo,  council  of,  8,  126. 

Toledo,  province  of,  23,  169. 

Tom^,  Narciso,  155. 

Tornero,  Juan,  22. 

Torquemada,  171. 


Trajan,  167. 

Triana,  232. 

Trinity,  Boston,  church  of,  18. 

Triolan,  San,  104. 

TripoU,  260. 

Triumf o,  SevUle,  Plaza  del,  201. 

Tudela,  Cathedral  of,  133. 

Urraca,  Dofia,  69. 

Vaccaei,  68. 

Vadajos,  Bishop  of,  20. 

Vergara,  Arnao  de,  229. 

Vaga,  Luis  de,  195. 

Valdes,  227. 

Vallejo,  Juan  de,  44,  45,  60. 

Valencia,  See  of,  7,  93,  122. 

Valencia,  Alonzo,  97. 

Valladolid,  City  of,  21,  23, 160, 227, 248, 

249. 
Valladolid,  Cathedral  of,  36,  122. 
Vega,  240,  245. 
Velasco,  Don  Pedro  Fernandez,  Count  of 

Haro,  49,  50. 
Velasco,  Bishop  Antonia  de,  52. 
Velasquez,  196, 258. 
Venice,  191. 
Vergara,  134. 
Viadero,  184. 

Vicente,  Avila,  Church  of,  71. 
Vico,  Ambrosio  de,  248. 
Vigami,    Philip    (Borgofia),  151,   153, 

251,  262. 
Vignola,  252. 

Villalon,  Cathedral  of,  143. 
Villalpondo,  134,  154. 
Villanueva,  82. 
Villegas,  Fernando  de,  52. 
Vincente,  St.,  86. 
Viscaya,  69. 

Visitacion,  Burgos,  Capilla  de,  52. 
Visquio,  Jeronimo,  7,  8,  10. 
Vitruvius,  224. 
Vittoria,  208. 
Voltaire,  245. 

Wamba,  126. 

Wear,  123, 

Wells,  Cathedral  of,  99. 


Westminater  Abbey,  149,  198. 
Wharton,  Mrs.,  103. 
Williams,  Leonard,  183. 
Wolaey,  136,  262. 


INDEX 

Yorobo,  Diego  de,  218. 


279 


Xenil,240. 

Ximenes,  136, 154, 156,  221,  261,  265. 

Ximon,  207. 


Zamora,  cathedral  of,  133. 
Zamora,  See  of,  7. 
Zaragoza,  bishopric,  122,  248. 
Zeros,  gate  of,  193. 
Zimena  Dofla,  33. 
Zurbaran,  195,  227. 


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